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).
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday.
Omar Raja, the founder of Bleacher Report's House of Highlights Instagram, said social media is "a young person's television," and that professional sports leagues have been reaching out to him to help them bolster the audience for live sports.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
Fitness platform ClassPass raised $85 million in new funding, bringing its total amount raised to $255 million. CEO Fritz Lanman breaks down his expansion plans and why Classpass wants to be your one-stop shop for both fitness and wellness.
Alex Betancourt, Sole North American competitor in the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup, sat down with MLS's Senior Director of Properties and Cheddar anchors to discuss the challenges facing eSports--and the potential for e-games to triumph as The Grand Finale looms.
eSports are growing rapidly and fans are spending hours upon hours streaming their favorites. Pete Giorgio, Lead of U.S. Sports at Deloitte, explains the sudden growth in the industry and what more traditional leagues can learn from eSports.
The Cheddar Sports crew caught up with Tucker Roberts, President of the Philadelphia Fusion, and Joe Marsh, the team's CFO, to discuss the rapid growth of esports and how it's reaching the "unreachable" demographic.
Baker Machado met with Tucker Roberts, President of Philadelphia Fusion and Joe Marsh, CFO of Philadelphia Fusion to talk the team's success, their chances this weekend and the league overall.
Nicole Carpenter, Reporter at Dot, claims the ESPN esports deal is responsible for the spike in Overwatch League viewership. Carpenter predicts on Cheddar the Philly Fusion will emerge the victor this Friday at the finals.
