Back in April of this year, Conor McGregor shocked people around the world when he punched an old man in the face for turning down a drink. Finally a decision has been made on the incident by the courts and the Irishman has been convicted of assault. He, however, has dodged any kind of prison or jail time.
On April 6, 2019, McGregor was at his local, Marble Arch Pub in Ireland’s capital, Dublin. The fighter was there to promote his ‘Proper 12’ beverage according to the court testimony. The story goes that McGregor offered an older man a try of the promotional beverage and when he declined the offer, McGregor served him a closed-fist punch in the face.
CCTV footage of the incident shows McGregor slamming a shot glass in front of the man before hitting him and swiftly leaving the pub.
The former UFC two-division champ made his way to Dublin District Court on November 1, where a decision was reached.
McGregor was charged with assault and slapped with a €1,000 fine or around US $1,116. ESPN reported that Judge Treasa Kelly said jail time would have been a bit too harsh for McGregor’s actions. Eyebrows were raised however as it was noted McGregor has 18 past convictions, one of which is for assault a decade ago.
Michael Staines, McGregor’s legal rep, asked the court to give the feisty-fighter “one last chance” and urged a criminal charge could make “very severe difficulties” for his UFC career.
Conor McGregor – @TheNotoriousMMA – arrives to court this morning where he's expected to make a plea over an alleged punch in a Dublin pub pic.twitter.com/4eg5lxuuqV
— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) November 1, 2019
“I assure you nothing of this nature will happen again regarding me,” McGregor told the court. The pub-encounter happened just a month after McGregor was arrested with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief. McGregor took a fan’s phone and smashed it on the ground.
“I was in the wrong,” McGregor said in an August interview with ESPN. “That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it end the way it did. … I tried to make amends, and I made amends back then. But it doesn’t matter. I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility.”
“I owe it to the people that have been supporting me. I owe it to my mother, my father, my family. I owe it to the people who trained me in martial arts. That’s not who I am. That’s not the reason why I got into martial arts or studying combat sports. The reason I got into it was to defend against that type of scenario.”
The charge comes just a few weeks after McGregor’s trip around Russia where he revealed his long-awaited return to the Octagon. McGregor has not taken part in any professional fighting since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
The future is bright! pic.twitter.com/4WtaY9Cyu8
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 23, 2019
McGregor has promised he’s back on form and will return fighting in January 2020, training incredibly hard, the 31-year old has his sights set on a rematch with the Russian that beat him last year.
