Facing fines, suspensions for water bottle fight
McGregor and Diaz are accused by Nevada State Athletic Commission of behavior “detrimental to a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat” due to their water bottle fight at the UFC Press Conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. By comparison, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones were fined 10 percent of their purses after they got into a brawl in August 2014 in the MGM Grand. Jones paid $50,000 as well as doing community service; Cormier paid $9,000 and had to do community service for his part in the fight. As McGregor and Diaz made far more from their fight the potential penalty is higher. An announcement on the hearing date has not been released.
Fined $150,000 for water bottle fight
The Nevada State Athletic Commission fines McGregor five-percent of his $3 million purse ($150,000) for the water bottle fight with Diaz inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in August. At least one security guard from the hotel was hit with a bottle or can that was thrown by McGregor. He was also fined 50 hours of community service, to be served within six months. McGregor was on the phone from Ireland:
I just want to apologize for the incident, it was a very unusual incident that unfolded. I acted wrong and all I can say is I’m sorry.
Diaz’s hearing will be heard at a later date.
Defends McGregor after fine
White says he supports McGregor after the Irishman was fined $150,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
If you threw a water bottle and got fined a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, would you fight there again? That guy could fight on an island off the coast of Peru and sell tickets. Las Vegas needs him, he doesn’t need Las Vegas…A hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a water bottle? That’s crazy.
Tells Nevada ‘good luck’ collecting fine
McGregor says that he’s not planning on fighting in Nevada any time in the near future, and that he has no intentions of paying the $150,000 fine. If McGregor doesn’t pay his fine or complete his community service, he could face a hard time getting a license to fight again in the state but from the sound of things that won’t be a problem.
I don’t see Nevada in my future, for the foreseeable future is how I see it. I’m free to do what I want. I’m good. I’m good. New York, New York. That’s what I think…I thought they might respect [me calling in] a little bit more. I owned up. I manned up. I’m here. I apologized. I’m not trying to blame nobody, although they fired the rounds off first. I didn’t think they would even go that route because I didn’t think this was like a real thing. Are they going to come and arrest me or what the (expletive) is that?..I wanted to give them the respect and I felt they would have respected that but they didn’t. So, whatever. It is what it is. Good luck trying to get it.
On Diaz:
I do not wish to see Nate get any more or any less than me. I don’t want to see either of us have something like this happen. But we’ll see. I don’t know. If they went that way on me I don’t know what way they’re going to go on him. He threw the bottle first, but I don’t wish he get more than me or anything like that. I just wish we’d get it sorted out and get on with it and carry on.
Commission: Fine only $75,000
Bennett, the Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, says McGregor’s $150,000 fine has been misinterpreted, and that he will only pay $75,000 for the water bottle incident. The $150,000 number includes the $75,000 fine plus the value of a public-service announcement McGregor must do for the commission. McGregor also has to serve 50 hours of community service.
It appears the media and others got it wrong…I understand that he’s upset. I understand that he commands a phenomenal following and paydays and he’s a world-renowned champ. I get that he’s frustrated — $75,000 is a lot of money. But I think the remark is inappropriate. In fairness to Conor — and I say this with the utmost respect — I just don’t think he understands how the system works when he’s fined. [McGregor] wasn’t suspended, nor were people in either fighter’s camp that participated in this…I’ll be the first to say that we’ve got it right sometimes and we haven’t gotten it right other times. When we don’t, we want to right the wrong.
McGregor petitions for judicial review of Nevada fine
According to Clark County, Nevada, civil court records, McGregor has filed a petition for judicial review of his $150,000 fine for the water bottle fight with Nate Diaz before UFC 202. The suit names NSAC Executive Director Bennett and the NSAC as respondents. A hearing date has yet to be scheduled and there is no further comment from McGregor or Bennett.
McGregor meets with NSAC to discuss fine reduction
McGregor, along with his attorneys and manager, meets Bennett and Mantell of the Nevada State Athletic Commission in Las Vegas, to ask for a rehearing of punishment order for throwing a water bottle at UFC 202. McGregor has said that the punishment — a $75,000 fine, an anti-bullying public service announcement with a production value of $75,000, and 50 hours of community service — was too stiff. Chairman Bennett says he agrees with McGregor’s position and says the punishment should be reduced to $25,000 fine plus 25 hours of community service. The commission will hear McGregor’s request when it reconvenes on March 22. Once a settlement has been agreed, McGregor can reapply for a boxing license. Bennett:
I think it’s important that the public knows that the chairman, upon speaking with Conor, realized a wrong was done and he’d like to make it right. We don’t always get it right. We’ve made mistakes in the past. The chairman lives by example.
NSAC confirms McGregor-Mayweather discussions
Anthony Marnell, the Nevada State Athletic Commission Chairman confirms that McGregor has been in talks with Mayweather:
I’m confirming that real people are having real discussions. I’m also telling you my opinion as the Nevada Athletic Commission chairman that a lot of things need to get done in order to see something like this come together because there are so many parties that want to get their hands on the pot. Maybe it will get figured out, but it’s going to be hard when everyone is declaring they want $100 million. That’s not what I said — that’s what they’ve said. That’s their quotes, not mine. If everyone wants $100 million, that’s a lot of $100 millions to go around.
NSAC Director: We will approve McGregor-Mayweather fight
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Bennett says he doesn’t anticipate any issues in regards to the sanctioning of the possible Mayweather-McGregor bout.
That’s certainly a fight that we would approve and have in Vegas. Who wouldn’t want to regulate the two best fighters at 150 pounds in their respective unarmed combat fields? Mayweather’s a phenomenal fighter, and so is McGregor. Sure, that’s a fight we would approve…[McGregor]’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s arguably one of the best strikers from the UFC. He’s in great shape; he’s hardcore, he trains hard, fights hard. Mayweather is arguably one of the best fighters of all time because he doesn’t believe in getting hit. But let’s not forget Floyd (will be) 40 and Conor is 28, so it’d make for a great fight.
$150,000 bottle-throwing fine reduced to $25,000
At a hearing in Las Vegas McGregor’s punishment for the water-bottle throwing incident before UFC 202 is reduced from $150,000 and 50 hours community service to $25,000 and 25 hours of community service, the same terms suggested by the Nevada attorney general’s office ahead of the initial hearing in October 2016. McGregor has six months to complete the community service and can do so in either Dublin or Las Vegas. The board’s chairman suggests that Nate Diaz, who was fined $50,000 and given 50 hours of community service for his part in the incident, should be reheard. NSAC executive director Bennett:
I just didn’t think [the original $150,000 fine] was fair.
Nevada State Commission: McGregor still to apply for boxing license
NSAC Executive Director Bennett says McGregor has pad his dues and is now eligible for a boxing license in the state.
Conor has paid the fine, he’s paid the Deputy Attorney General’s fees and has been a man of his word. All he has to do now, if he’s so inclined to, is apply for a boxing license. He’s certainly eligible and we hope that he does…We are the fight capital of the world and we’d love to have him back here in Vegas. We had a very productive, professional and cordial meeting with Conor and his attorneys. His litigation is over, he’s paid his fine as we had a rehearing and he paid what was asked of him. Floyd set a fine example for all boxers before he got out of the business, but now he may come back in for the fight with Conor, so it’s definitely an approvable fight and a great one.
Diaz water-bottle incident penalty reduced
Diaz’s penalty for the water bottle throwing incident with McGregor during the UFC 202 press conference is reduced from $50,000 and 50 hours of community service, to $15,000 and 15 hours of community service. As Diaz has already paid the fine he will get a refund of $35,000.
McGregor applies for boxing license in Nevada
NSAC Director Bennett says McGregor has submitted his application for a boxing license. According to Bennett, McGregor’s application was incomplete due to missing medical documents, but the commission will consider McGregor’s request once those are provided. McGregor was ineligible to receive a boxing license in Nevada as recently as March, due to an outstanding fine for his involvement in a UFC media conference last year. It is expected that the license will be approved. Bennett:
Conor is intimately familiar with our licensing procedures, having fought here multiple times for the UFC. When he has time, and all sides have come to a contractual agreement, I’m sure he will fulfill our requirements, and we look forward to having him fight in Nevada…McGregor is younger, taller, has a longer reach and most of his wins in MMA have come by knockout, which shows he’s a talented striker. I think both are phenomenal fighters with exceptional skills.