UFC fighter Conor McGregor is set to appear in court in mid-October over an episode in which he assaulted an elderly man in a Dublin pub, The Daily Mail reported Friday.
In CCTV footage from the pub taken in April, McGregor is seen getting into an altercation with a senior patron of the pub after the man refused to taste McGregor’s offer of what appears to be whiskey. After a brief verbal conflict, the UFC fighter punched the old man in the head once before he was swiftly forced out of the pub by a group of witnesses.
Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said there was enough evidence to charge McGregor with assault, The Daily Mail report says. The fighter is yet to be served with a subpoena for the hearing.
On Friday, UFC president Dana White compared McGregor to boxer Mike Tyson, while condemning the footage from the pub, the report says. Commenting on the incident, White described McGregor's actions as “pretty bad,” adding that, with wealthy fighters like Conor and Tyson, ordinary citizens must “get ready for a disaster.”
This is not the first violent incident involving the UFC fighter and a civilian. Earlier in March, McGregor smashed a phone out of a fan’s hand and then walked away. That case was settled peacefully this summer.