Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz Could Be Fined, Suspended For UFC 202 Brawl

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz are facing potential punishment for their wild press conference brawl the week of their massive rematch at August 20’s UFC 202 from Las Vegas.

Earlier today a report surfaced from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that the Nevada Attorney General’s Office has filed complaints against both McGregor and Diaz for conduct deemed “detrimental to a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat.” The possible results of the complaint include fines and/or suspension.

The wild fracas erupted at a Wednesday pre-fight press conference that week which McGregor arrived late to, inciting Diaz to walk out himself with his team. “The Notorious” began chirping as expected, and soon Diaz and his training partners were throwing water bottles towards the Irishman, who responded by throwing energy drinks at them. A 12-year-old was reportedly hurt in the melee, and a potential lawsuit could result.

But all negative press aside, the scene actually provided even more hype and attention to an already boosted rematch after Diaz infamously beat McGregor at UFC 196. The numbers would indicate that as well, with UFC 202 supposedly coming in as one of the highest-selling UFC pay-per-view (PPV) events of all-time with a staggering (although estimated) 1.6 million buys.

The fight was also a very lucrative one for both McGregor, who took home a record-setting million disclosed purse, and Diaz, who took home million, so as Okamoto noted, any fine in the neighborhood of 10% for the pre-fight brawl, which was handed to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier in 2014, would turn out to be some very substantial amounts.

Still, if the initial PPV estimates end up being close to the actual numbers, McGregor and Diaz could have earned as much or more from that revenue. It may not be the best look for MMA or the UFC, but it was a controversial attention-grabber that put Diaz vs. McGregor II into the stratosphere as arguably the biggest UFC fight ever staged.

McGregor edged Diaz in a close – and some would say highly controversial – majority decision to even their series at one apiece to set the stage for a trilogy match, although the UFC has said it won’t be right away. The NSAC will surely take a big piece of the bank that McGregor and Diaz brought in, yet the prospect of yet another record-breaking third fight will soften the blow of the fine they’ll face at their hearing.