The UFC is “incredibly” disappointed with lightweight fighter Conor McGregor said Lawrence Epstein, COO of the sporting body.
“We’ve come so far in legitimizing the sport and growing our business,” the exec told Cheddar in an in interview Friday. “[His behavior] is just not representative of who we are.”
McGregor was arrested Thursday for an altercation in Brooklyn where he attacked a bus full of fellow UFC fighters, injuring two of them.
“The first thing that’s got to happen is a criminal investigation,” Epstein said. Once that is over, the UFC will decide what to do internally and the option of kicking the fighter out of the UFC is not off the table, he said.
McGregor is known for his flamboyant and provocative antics. For example, he swiped Floyd Mayweather Jr. with racist and demeaning slurs ahead of their highly anticipated UFC-boxing crossover match last year.
The league, which celebrated its 25th anniversary Friday, hosts UFC 223 Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Since its inception, it’s [evolved](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-the-ufc-has-changed-over-its-25-year-history) from being a “very spectacle-oriented, niche, U.S.-centric sport to...a truly global brand,” said Epstein.
He added that the body has worked very hard at making it a safe and regulated space with no tolerance for fighters like McGregor.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cheddar-steps-into-the-octagon-with-ufc).
The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility.
NASCAR and IndyCar have postponed their weekend schedules at Atlanta Motor Speedway and St. Petersburg, Florida, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Boston Marathon has been postponed for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The race is sacrificing its customary Patriots Day start in the hopes of preserving the uninterrupted 124-year tradition of the world's most prestigious long-distance run.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, March 13, 2020.
Kate Delaney, author and host of NBC Sports Radio sus
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee discussed how athletes can only focus on what they have control over in terms of the Tokyo games, and that women in sports need to keep pressing for change.
Heather Hardy, pro boxer, has a petition urging the World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council to remove the word 'female' from boxing championship belts.
Rapper Offset talked to Cheddar about providing opportunities and building community through his partnership with esport organization FaZe Clan.
Authorities are investigating whether deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene where Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others were killed, according to a newspaper report.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
