McGregor Apologises, Ref Issues Statement After Dublin Controversy

Needless to say, it hasn't been the best couple of weeks for Conor McGregor.

After watching his team-mate Artem Lobov lose to Andre Fili at the UFC event in Gdansk a number of weeks ago, he was caught on camera using a homophobic slur while talking to Lobov following the match.

He issued an apology for that statement during an interview on The Late Late Show on RTE.

Then last Friday, during a Bellator event in Dublin's 3Arena, McGregor entered the cage to celebrate with another team-mate Charlie Ward after his match with John Redmond.

However, confusion and mayhem then ensued:

McGregor's actions were met with a lot of negativity from the Irish public.

He appears to go after referee Marc Goddard, after the latter initially tried to get him out of the ring.

The Notorious took to Instagram to issue an apology for his behaviour.

 

I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin. While trying to support a loyal teammate and friend, I let my emotions get the best of me and acted out of line. As a multiple weight UFC champion, executive producer, role model and public figure, I must hold myself to a higher standard. The referee Marc Godard was making a horrendous decision in trying to pick an unconscious fighter up off the floor and force the fight to continue into the second round. Even against the wishes of the said fighters coach. The fight was over. After witnessing my fighter in a fight where the worst happened and the opponent passed away from his injuries on the night, I thought the worst was about to happen again, and I lost it and over reacted. I am sorry to everyone. I sincerely apologize to the Director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, Mike Mazzulli, all the officials and staff working the event, Andy Ryan and his fighter John, two stonch ones that put up a great fight every time. That side will always have my respect, and lastly every one of my fans. I love yous all! I’ve always learned from my mistakes and this will be no different.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Nov 14, 2017 at 9:48am PST

Meanwhile, Marc Goddard has also issued a statement in relation to the incident, where he claims he hadn't called the fight as he thought he heard the bell ring for the end of the round.

Goddard spoke on Facebook:

There's claims that McGregor was pulled from the UFC 219 card as punishment for his actions, but those have been disputed as it was never confirmed that he was due to fight on the card, due to be held on the 30th of December.