Conor McGregor went 4-1 in the fight capital of the world.
His 2014 knockout victory over Dustin Poirier paved the way for a fruitful relationship with Las Vegas but it appears as though that relationship is over.
On Monday, McGregor was hit with a ludicrous $150,000 fine and 50 hours of community service for his part in the bottle-throwing exchange that closed out the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference in August.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission came in for massive criticism for what many perceived as an act of needless muscle-flexing and money-grabbing.
And while ‘The Notorious’ took the opportunity to put his own spin on the punishment, it seems as though Monday’s hearing has strained his association with the NAC beyond repair.
I get fined more than these bums get paid
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 10, 2016
UFC president Dana White, in an interview with The Herd with Colin Cowherd, revealed that McGregor has told his bosses that he doesn’t want to compete in Nevada any longer after the way he was treated by the commission.
“Conor McGregor hit me up yesterday and said ‘I don’t ever want to fight in Nevada again!'” White said.
“Now how does that make sense for the state of Nevada, that you’re going to fine this kid and Nate that much money? It just makes people not want to come fight in our state. And that’s not a good thing.
“Guess what? Conor McGregor doesn’t need Nevada… He could fight in Iowa. We could put his fight on an island off the coast off anywhere. It just makes no sense.”
McGregor has earned the state plenty of money in his short time in fighting there, having headlined four of the top five MMA gates in Nevada’s history.
But the Irishman’s desire to move away from Las Vegas is nothing new. Prior to being pulled from UFC 200, McGregor told SevereMMA that he wanted to start fighting more often on the East Coast of the USA.
“Fuck Vegas. Fuck Vegas serious. I want East Coast next. If they don’t give me Ireland, give me East Coast next. I’ll go back to Boston, I know they’re lobbying for New York, we had a great time when we went to Boston and the East coast, it’s not as far, it’s a five hour flight.”
MMA in New York has been legalised since that McGregor interview and he will be one half of the promotion’s first ever event in Madison Square Garden when he meets Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title next month.
Hopefully the $150,000 payday was worth it because the NAC could well have cost themselves a lot more money down the line with this decision.
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