Conor McGregor has not taken kindly to the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s decision to fine him $150,000 in addition to 50 hours of community service for throwing a bottle at Nate Diaz during chaotic scenes at a UFC 202 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas back in August.
Earlier in the week McGregor had quipped that, “I get fined more than these bums gets paid,” but now he’s taking a tougher stance on the matter that could hit the state of Nevada where it hurts, by refusing to fight there again.
“I don’t see Nevada in my future, for the foreseeable future is how I see it,” McGregor told Rolling Stone. “I’m free to do what I want. I’m good. I’m good. New York, New York. That’s what I think.”
UFC President Dana White had foreshadowed that decision earlier in the week, indicating that NSAC were cutting off their nose in spite of their face with the heavy-handed fine.
“Guess what? Conor McGregor doesn’t need Nevada,” White said on FOX Sports 1. “He can fight anywhere. He can fight in Iowa. We can put his fight on an island off the coast of anywhere. This makes no sense for the state. It’s just terrible.”
Not only would the state be hit hard by the millions of dollars in lost income that would come from missing out on McGregor’s blockbuster drawing power, but it also means they have no power left to force him to accept the punishment that they have handed him.
“Are they going to come and arrest me or what the (expletive) is that?” McGregor scoffed. “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.”
