Conor McGregor is now facing charges of assault and criminal mischief following a backstage melee at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Video footage appears to show the UFC star throwing a hand truck at a bus full of fighters involved in Saturday's card, of which four bouts are now canceled.The dolly struck one of the fighters and also shattered a window, spraying others with glass.McGregor turned himself in to police Thursday night and appeared in court Friday afternoon. He was released on $50,000 bail and is due back in court on June 14."In the history of the UFC, this is definitely the worst thing that has happened," UFC president Dana White said. "No, this is not the Conor McGregor, is not the Conor McGregor I know." The incident was apparently McGregor's way of having his boy's back, after his friend Artem Lobov got into a scuffle with another UFC fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier this week."Conor heard about it and loaded a plane up in Ireland with 20 goons," White said. "They jumped on a plane and they flew here. Yesterday during media day, they had it timed perfectly that when it was breaking up, the fighters are going down, getting on the buses and going back, he had two of his guys who were credentialed to cover the event for the Mac Life, a company of his, they opened these side doors and let these guys in. These guys got to the buses and started to attack the buses."Now, the 29-year-old fighter is charged with three counts of assault and one count of felony criminal mischief.Michael Chiesa was sent to the hospital with injuries sustained in the attack and was forced out of his scheduled fight against Anthony Pettis. Flyweight Ray Borg suffered multiple cornea abrasions in the wake of the McGregor attack and his fight against Brandon Moreno was also scratched."The first thing when the throws the dolly through the window, Mike Chiesa, one of the fighters was sitting there," White said. "The dolly hit him, and glass came in and cut him up. He's in bad shape. Mike told me that when the glass broke, it turned into almost dust. And it actually cut the eyeball, the cornea and retina of Ray Borg, another fighter."A UFC staff member was cut on the hand. White said he's been in touch via text message with McGregor, who told him he's sorry innocent people got hurt but isn't apologetic about addressing the beef."He was apologetic about the people he wasn't trying to hurt," White said. "But he felt the Khabib thing had to be done."McGregor hasn't fought for UFC since November 2016 and was stripped this week of the 155-pound championship he had never defended. White also said this week he did not expect McGregor to attend Saturday's UFC 223 card.McGregor profanely responded on Twitter and wrote, "You'll strip me of nothing."The fight between Max Holloway and Nurmagomedov was canceled Friday when Holloway didn't make weight for the main event, the lightweight championship left vacant by McGregor. Lobov was yanked from the card and banned from the building."I don't know if he's on drugs or what his deal is, but to come here and do this and to act this like, you know, you're talking about a guy who has a baby," White said. "He's not a kid. This is how you're acting, you have a son at home. I think everybody is going to be pretty disgusted with Conor McGregor right now. You know you don't like a Khabib and you don't like what happened or whatever, fight Khabib, you can come in here and do it legally."McGregor's teammate, 25-year-old Cian Cowley, is charged with assault and criminal mischief.----------</s>Share this article with Google Plus

Disgraced UFC star Conor McGregor has appeared in court and been released on bail after he was charged with assault.

The Irishman’s case was heard at Brooklyn Criminal Court, with bail set for $50,000 (£35,500).

The 29-year-old has not yet entered a plea and his next hearing is on 14 June.

McGregor handed himself in to the authorities on Friday after he attacked a bus carrying several UFC fighters in New York.

The former two-weight champion, who hasn’t competed at an MMA event since his win over Eddie Alvarez back in November 2016, was said to be seeking revenge for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to confront Artem Lobov earlier this week.

Lobov is a close friend of McGregor’s and trains at the same Straight Blast Gym in Dublin.

McGregor was captured on video rampaging through the Barclays Center with members of his entourage and appeared to throw a metal hand truck through the window of the bus.

McGregor’s actions have wreaked havoc upon the UFC223 event, which will go ahead on Saturday night with a reduced card due to the injuries sustained by Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg during the attack.

A statement from the UFC on Friday read: ‘Lightweight Michael Chiesa, who received several facial cuts, was deemed unfit to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission and the UFC medical team, and he was removed from his bout against Anthony Pettis.

‘Flyweight Ray Borg, who was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno, was deemed unfit to fight as well due to multiple corneal abrasions.

‘Also removed from the card was the featherweight bout between Artem Lobov and Alex Caceres due to Lobov’s involvement in the incident.

‘UFC 223 will proceed as scheduled with 10 bouts. Moving to the Pay-Per-View main card is the featherweight bout between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Kyle Bochniak.’

MORE: Conor McGregor hands himself in to police after attacking bus carrying UFC fighters in New York</s>Irish Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor was charged with assault and criminal mischief by New York police on Friday, then led out in handcuffs and driven to court.

The 29-year-old fighter was escorted from the Brooklyn police station in jeans, white sneakers and a tight-fitting blue top, before being driven off in the back of a black sedan for his arraignment at a criminal court, also in Brooklyn.

The star was caught on video Thursday hurling a dolly through a side window of a bus loaded with rival mixed martial arts fighters who were attending a New York media event at the Barclays Center. The bus was moving slowly through the stadium parking lot when the incident occurred.

Police confirmed that McGregor has been charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief, and that Cian Cowley, 25, another MMA fighter, has been charged with one count of assault and one count of criminal mischief.

Cowley was also to appear before court in Brooklyn on Friday.

Fighter Michael Chiesa, who was on the bus, was taken to hospital following Thursday's incident and was being treated for cuts to the face, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said.

"A decision was made by the New York State Athletic Commission to pull me from UFC 223. I'm devastated to say the least," Chiesa later tweeted.

White said police issued a warrant for the arrest of McGregor, accusing the Irish star and a group of around 20 men of "storming the building."

"They got down to the loading docks where the fighters were getting on the buses and attacked them, throwing trash cans, dollies, things like that," White said. "Broke one of the windows, cut Michael Chiesa real bad, cut his hand, cut his face."

White called it "the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the company," and said "everyone's shaken up."

White warned that McGregor would face likely legal action.

"As you can imagine he's going to be sued beyond belief," White said. "This was a real bad career move for him."

The Irishman reportedly pocketed around $100 million for the superfight which he lost last August in Las Vegas against ex-welterweight champion boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Their matchup was one of the richest boxing bouts of all time.

It was not clear what triggered Thursday's alleged assault but it appeared to be linked in part to the UFC's decision to strip McGregor of his world title.

McGregor reportedly turned up unannounced at the end of Thursday's press event to publicize the upcoming UFC 223 card.

On Wednesday, White said the UFC would take back McGregor's lightweight title, which would be awarded to the winner of Saturday's UFC 223 fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway in New York.

McGregor reacted angrily to the decision on social media. "You's'll strip me of nothing," he tweeted, invoking an expletive.</s>Conor McGregor has been granted bail at $50,000 after being ordered to return to the dock later this year after being charged with assault and criminal mischief.

Conor McGregor has been granted bail at $50,000 after being ordered to return to the dock later this year after being charged with assault and criminal mischief.

WATCH: Conor McGregor appears in New York court as he is granted bail at $50,000

McGregor was detained following an incident at a UFC media day in Brooklyn on Thursday. The Irishman and up to 20 of his entourage appeared to attack a bus with rival MMA fighters on board at a press event ahead.

The UFC star appeared in court alongside fellow fighter Cian Cowley, who was released on a 25,000 dollar bail for the same offence. McGregor, 29, a titan of the sport and the UFC's first two-weight champion, was charged following the incident at the company's media day in Brooklyn on Thursday. Both fighters are due to next appear at a New York court on June 14.

The 29-year-old was stripped of his UFC lightweight title earlier this week, with UFC chief Dana White earlier suggesting his star name was 'going to jail' and will not return to the UFV Ocatagon any time soon.

“Normally, yes – I would dive right in and do everything in my power to help one of my guys, but not in this situation” White today said told ESPN “He came into the Barclays Center, attacked our fighters, and attacked my staff with a bunch of guys – no. You don’t get my help on this one. “It’s out of character for Conor McGregor or any of my fighters. Crazy things happen in sports … you’re dealing with human beings with personal lives and all these other things. But in the history of the UFC, this is definitely the worst thing that’s happened. This is not the Conor McGregor I know.

"Will he fight again? He's going to jail, he's going to jail. He's also going to have lots of people suing him for this. It was a real bad career move for him." You can watch McGregor's court appearance here:</s>Irish UFC champion Conor McGregor has been charged with assault in New York.

He is due to appear in court later on Friday, US police said.

McGregor was detained following an incident at a UFC media day in Brooklyn on Thursday. The 29-year-old had earlier been stripped of his UFC lightweight title.

A New York Police Department spokesman said: "He (McGregor) has been charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief."

He added that 25-year-old Cian Cowley, also a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, from Hyde Park, Dalkey, has been charged with assault.

McGregor has not fought in the UFC for more than a year but lost to former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning bout last August.

He has been a flamboyant presence on the sporting scene and divided opinion in Ireland and further afield.

The incident happened at the Barclays Centre in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

People had gathered to promote a competition headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway.

The UFC added: "NYPD was immediately alerted and is currently in the process of investigating the situation.

"UFC is working very closely with the New York Athletic Commission, Barclays Centre security and law enforcement authorities.

"All parties are working together to ensure the highest standard of proper safety precautions are implemented to protect the fans and athletes."</s>Conor McGregor has appeared in court and been released on bail after being charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief following a rampage at a UFC press event in Brooklyn on Thursday.

The Irishman’s case was heard at Brooklyn Criminal Court, with bail set for $50,000 (£35,500). The former two-weight champion is yet to enter a plea and will appear at his next hearing on 14 June.

The 29-year-old turned himself in to police on Thursday evening after the violent incident, and the New York police department has now confirmed the charges.

“He’s been charged with assault, three counts of assault, and one count of criminal mischief,” Thomas Antonetti of the NYPD told Reuters. “He’s still in custody, still at the police precinct until he’s removed to court this morning.”

As the UFC held a media day on Thursday ahead of the upcoming fight card at the Barclays Center on Saturday, McGregor and his entourage entered through a side entrance and attacked a van containing other fighters.

Video of the fracas circulated on social media showed objects being thrown at the van, and a number of people were injured by glass fragments as windows were smashed. One video published by TMZ appears to show McGregor throwing a hand truck at a bus full of fighters.

caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) yoooooo... first time seeing this one. Conor has legit lost his mind. pic.twitter.com/XcLFd2FIMo

Other footage showed McGregor with a group of people causing chaos as they took an elevator to the loading dock at Barclays Center. He can be seen tossing trash cans and being prevented from throwing a barricade during his unannounced appearance in New York.

UFC has also confirmed three fights on Saturday’s UFC 223 card have been scrapped as a result of the incident. “The organization deems today’s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow,” UFC said in a statement. “Individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow’s ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday’s event at Barclays Center.”

Dana White, the president of UFC, has said that the van attack was “the most disgusting thing that ever happened in the history” of the organisation. White stripped McGregor of the 155lb championship belt this week, leading the Irishman to tweet, “you’ll strip me of nothing.”

McGregor, who claims to have made $140m from his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last August, has not fought in the Octagon since the win over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016, when he became the first UFC fighter to hold two world titles simultaneously.

Earlier this week, the UFC 223 fighter Artem Lobov, thought to be a close friend of McGregor’s, was involved in a hotel scuffle with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Lobov was removed from Saturday’s card, while Nurmagomedov will fight Max Holloway for the lightweight championship left vacant by McGregor.

Michael Chiesa was admitted to hospital with injuries sustained in the attack and was forced out of his scheduled fight against Anthony Pettis.

</s>Conor McGregor has been released on bail after he was charged with assault and criminal mischief in New York.

The Irishman will be allowed to fly home to Ireland after the authorities decided not to seize his passport.

He will return to New York on June 14 for his next court hearing, along with teammate Cian Cowley who was also charged.

McGregor's bail of $50,000 was reportedly paid for by another of his teammates, Dillon Danis.

The biggest star in mixed martial arts appeared before the judge in the same clothes he wore 24 hours earlier; a blue, long-sleeved golf shirt that hid his elaborate tattoos.

Earlier, he was seen being led from a police station in handcuffs at around 10.30am New York time on Friday.

McGregor was involved in a melee following a press event for UFC 223 with video footage showing him and his entourage attacking a bus containing fighters, including lightweight rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor can then be seen grabbing a railing and attempting unsuccessfully to throw it at the bus.

Unperturbed, he located a wheeled trolley and launched that at the vehicle, smashing one of the rear windows.

He and his entourage fled the scene and sped off in a waiting SUV.

Two UFC fighters were pulled from upcoming bouts due to injuries they sustained in the fracas.

Michael Chiesa, who received "several facial cuts", tweeted to say the New York State Athletic Commission had decided to pull him from his bout against Anthony Pettis.

UFC later released a statement confirming Chiesa's injuries and also said flyweight Ray Borg would not be taking part in his fight against Brandon Moreno due to "multiple cornea abrasions".

A third fighter, Artem Lobov - a close friend and training partner of McGregor - was also removed from the card due to his "involvement in the incident", UFC said.

Reports suggested the confrontation had been sparked by an earlier run-in Lobov had with UFC lightweight title contender Khabib Nurmagomedov - who was on the targeted bus.

The ugly scenes were condemned by UFC president Dana White, who labelled them "one of the most disgusting things that's happened in the history of the company".

McGregor has been a divisive presence in the sport due to his quick temper, flashy tastes and trash-talking of rivals, but quickly became one of UFC's most bankable stars after signing a contract in 2013.

His rapid ascendancy saw him capture two belts before jumping sports to face undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning crossover bout in Las Vegas last August. He lost the fight and has not competed since.

He was this week stripped of his UFC lightweight belt, which was due to be on the line in a bout between Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway at UFC 223, before the latter dropped out when doctors stopped him cutting further weight on Friday.

The UFC said in a statement: "NYPD was immediately alerted and is currently in the process of investigating the situation.

"UFC is working very closely with the New York Athletic Commission, Barclays Centre security and law enforcement authorities."</s>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor was driven to a New York City courtroom on Friday to be arraigned on charges of assault stemming from a melee following a press event for a series of UFC fights to be staged at a Brooklyn arena.

The sport’s best-known athlete and an international star, McGregor, 29, was dressed in a blue, long-sleeved golf shirt that hid his elaborate tattoos as he was escorted from the police station where he surrendered the previous night.

He faces three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief following the fracas at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center on Thursday evening.

A video of the incident, widely circulated on social media, appears to show the Irish-born McGregor and his entourage using a metal barricade and other objects to smash windows on a bus filled with fighters departing from the event.

Efforts to reach McGregor’s representatives were not successful. It was not clear who was representing him at the court hearing.

McGregor last fought in the UFC in November 2016, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight belt. But he never defended the title as he entered the boxing ring instead, to take on Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

His technical knockout loss to Mayweather was the second biggest pay-per-view fight in history.

In January, the UFC said Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson would fight for the undisputed lightweight title at Saturday’s event, known as UFC 223. As a consequence, the Irishman would lose the belt.

In February, McGregor said he had offered to fight at UFC 222 but was denied.

UFC President Dana White said in an interview on ESPN that a UFC fighter on the bus was hit and cut by a dolly thrown through the window, and that another fighter had the cornea of his eyes cut as the glass broke into dust-like material.

UFC was founded in 1993 and popularized cage fighting. It now holds dozens of fights around the world every year that have surpassed pro wresting and boxing in popularity, and are broadcast in more than 156 nations, reaching 1.1 billion households.

In July 2016, the UFC said it had agreed to be bought by talent agency WME-IMG in a transaction a source valued at $4 billion, one of the largest price tags for a sports brand.</s>Conor McGregor was involved in a backstage melee and video footage appears to show the UFC star throwing a guard rail at a bus full of fighters on Saturday's card. (Source: CNN)

UFC star Conor McGregor has turned himself into police in the wake of a backstage melee he instigated that has forced the removal of three fights off UFC's biggest card of the year.

Video footage appears to show the promotion's most bankable star throwing a hand truck at a bus full of fighters , after a press conference for UFC 223 at Barclays Center.

McGregor was being processed and no charges had been filed as of Thursday night.

Video showed McGregor with a group of people causing chaos Thursday as they took an elevator to the loading dock at Barclays Center. He can be seen tossing trash cans and being prevented from throwing a barricade at a bus during his unannounced appearance in New York.

The New York Police Department said McGregor threw a hand truck at a bus causing minor injury to an individual on the bus. UFC said three fights on Saturday's UFC 223 card have been scrapped as a result of the incident.

"The organization deems today's disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow," UFC said in a statement. "Individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow's ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday's event at Barclays Center."

McGregor hasn't fought for UFC since November 2016 and was stripped this week by UFC President Dana White of the 155-pound championship he had never defended. White also said this week he did not expect McGregor to attend Saturday's fights.

He sure made his presence felt in Brooklyn.

McGregor profanely responded on Twitter and wrote, "You'll strip me of nothing." He was just getting started.

McGregor last fought at all in a boxing match he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, 2017.

The popular Irishman is tight with UFC 223 fighter Artem Lobov, who was involved this week in a scuffle in a hotel with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov fights Max Holloway for the lightweight championship left vacant by McGregor.

Lobov was yanked from the card and banned from the building.

Michael Chiesa was sent to the hospital with injuries sustained in the attack and was forced out of his scheduled fight against Anthony Pettis.

"A decision was made by the New York State Athletic Commission to pull me from UFC 223," Chiesa tweeted. "I'm devastated to say the least. @showtimepettis I hope to run this match up ASAP. June 9th in your backyard. That's all I have to say for now. Much love."

Flyweight Ray Borg suffered multiple cornea abrasions in the wake of the McGregor attack and his fight against Brandon Moreno was also scratched

White said this week in New York that McGregor would fight again for UFC this year. McGregor's actions now put any future fights very much in doubt.

The 29-year-old McGregor once held the 145 and 155-pound championships at the same time and boldly stated he wanted an ownership stake in UFC. But the trash-talking, egocentric has been out of the fight game except for his boxing dalliance with Mayweather that made him wealthy enough to never have to fight again. McGregor and his girlfriend welcomed their first child, a son, in May 2017.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>
• The Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor on Thursday stormed a UFC press conference in New York City and started a brawl.
• A video showed McGregor and his team attacking a bus carrying fighters and throwing guard rails and other loose objects.
• Earlier on Thursday, the UFC's Dana White had announced that McGregor would be stripped of his lightweight championship belt from 2016 after a fight between Max Holloway-Khabib Nurmagomedov this weekend.

A bizarre scene unfolded at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday after a press conference for UFC 223 when the Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor stormed the building and appeared to attack a bus carrying other fighters.

The UFC's Dana White had previously announced that McGregor would lose the lightweight championship belt after this weekend's Max Holloway-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight.

Video from the bowels of building showed McGregor throwing a guardrail and other objects at a bus before being restrained by security.

Here is video, via fighter Felice Herrig's Instagram:

Video was also taken from inside the bus and captured on social media of McGregor and his team attacking the bus. WARNING: Explicit language.

MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani reported that McGregor was trying to fight Nurmagomedov.

According to MMA Junkie, fighter Michael Chiesa suffered a laceration to his forehead during the brawl. It was unclear how severe his injury was.

Someone later published video of what appears to show McGregor and his team leaving Barclays Center and getting into an SUV.

It was unclear what the source of the brawl was or its implications. Earlier on Thursday, McGregor had tweeted about his displeasure with UFC over losing his title.

"You's'll strip me of nothing you's do nothing c----," McGregor wrote.
An arrest warrant is issued for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Conor McGregor after he was involved in a melee at a press conference at the Barclays Center in New York City ahead of UFC 223. Video footage appears to show McGregor throwing a hand truck through a window of the Khabib Nurmagomedov team bus.