Skip to main content

Dana White Knew About Conor McGregor's April Bar Incident

Dana White has known about Conor McGregor's latest out-of-the-octagon incident since it happened in April.

UFC president Dana White said he has known about the incident in which Conor McGregor appeared to punch a man in an Ireland bar in April since it happened. White added that he doesn't know what it's going to take for McGregor to decide that his continued altercations outside of the octagon are no longer worth it.

"That happened in April. I knew that happened, they just got the video. It's pretty bad," White told CBS Sports' Jim Rome. "Not allegedly, it's pretty's clear. Apparently, this was in a pub in Ireland and it was an argument over whiskey. Conor has a whiskey now and it was an argument over the whiskey and Conor reaches out and hits him with a left hook. I don't know the context of it. I don't know the entire story but he punches a guy, an older man, in the face."

He continued: "When you deal with fighters, there's always something. What's it going to cost Conor before he decides, 'all right, this isn't worth it, enough is enough, I need to stop doing this.' The incident in New York cost him millions. He had to pay the guy with the phone. The list just goes on and on. I just don't know when he wakes up and says, 'I've got to stop doing this.'"

TMZ released a video Thursday that appeared to show McGregor sucker-punching a man at an Ireland bar in April. The footage captured McGregor walking into a Dublin bar and ordering shots of his custom-made whiskey. One elderly male declined multiple offers of the drink which prompted the former UFC champion to punch him in the face. McGregor was immediately escorted out. No charges have been filed to date.

The April incident was the latest McGregor incident brought to public light. McGregor was arrested in March after smashing a fan's phone outside the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami. Miami-Dade prosecutors released the footage Wednesday after charging McGregor with robbery by sudden snatching and criminal mischief.

The fan, Ahmed Abdirzak, filed a lawsuit but reached an out of court settlement with McGregor and dropped the suit, according to the Herald. 

McGregor last fought in Oct. 2018, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in a fight that ended in a brawl. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended both Nurmagomedov and McGregor last fall during its investigation into the post-fight melee between the two fighters' camps at the conclusion of their bout.

The 31-year-old fighter has a 21–4 career record. McGregor announced his retirement March 26, but later that day the New York Times reported he was under investigation in Ireland after a woman accused him of sexual assault.