CONOR MCGREGOR TODAY avoided jail time in New York city – reaching a plea deal regarding charges against him.
The MMA superstar was appearing in Brooklyn Criminal Court in relation to criminal mischief, misdemeanor assault and menacing and reckless endangerment after he and associates attacked a bus at UFC 223 last April.
However, 30-year-old McGregor has escaped with five days of community service and anger management classes.
“I just want to say I’m thankful to the DA [district attorney] and the judge for allowing me to move forward,” the Dubliner told reporters outside the court.
“I want to say to my friends, my family, my fans — thank you for the support.”
Speaking to ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani afterwards, McGregor’s manager Audi Attar added: “We’re very satisfied and very thankful to the courts. We’re happy to put this behind us and focus on things that have been on hold for some time now — and get back to business.”
The former two-weight UFC champion has not fought in the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title back in November 2016, while his last bout of any kind was the boxing defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr 12 months ago.
Asked about the possibility of McGregor returning to competitive MMA this year, Attar revealed that discussions with the UFC have taken place over the last couple of weeks and more are expected in the near future.
Everybody wants to get back to the good old days, if you will,” he added. “I know Conor’s been training. He’s in great shape right now and he’s ready to take this challenge on.
“When this happens is yet to be known, the negotiations have to play out and once we get that across the line we’ll know when that date is that he returns to the Octagon.”
A match-up with current lightweight champions Khabib Nurmagomedov has been mooted, and Attar confirmed that the Russian is “the most likely opponent at this point and time”.
6 October in Las Vegas is one possibility for McGregor’s comeback but his manager was non-committal on a specific date as negotiations have yet to be concluded.
“Conor was planning on fighting before all this stuff happened,” he added. “The reality of it is that Conor was planning to fight in May, so yes, he wants to fight.
He loves to fight, he loves to compete, he still has some unfinished business in more than one way — from an athletic standpoint and from a business standpoint.
“At the end of the day, it’s got to be right and negotiations will have to be completed. Then we’ll have a sure date on our hands.”
Watch the ESPN interview below:
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