Top Fight Lawyer Reveals Why Conor McGregor’s Legal Team Wants Him Back Fighting
Earlier this month (June 14, 2018), former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor appeared in court in Brooklyn following his outburst at the Barclays Center after a UFC 223 media day this past April.
Ultimately, however, little regarding his future was settled, as the court agreed to let McGregor return to court next month, while his team attempts to strike a plea deal.
As far as the plea deal goes, top fight lawyer Dmitriy Shakhnevich, who recently spoke with Bloody Elbow, said that it will likely focus on getting McGregor back into the Octagon as soon as possible where he can continue to make money, which is a key part of his character:
“It looks like what happened is exactly what most thought would happen,” Shakhnevich said. “His lawyers probably as soon as they got into the case back in April – or I guess it was the beginning of May – called the D.A.’s (district attorney’s) office and started talking (about) a plea deal. It didn’t look like the evidence was in Conor’s favor, and with a plea deal they save a whole lot, they can get fighting faster. They likely keep him here in terms of allowing him to re-enter (the country), and they keep him making money. And that’s really all he’s concerned about. At the end of the day there’s this persona, he’s a charismatic superstar, that’s fine. He’s used to a lifestyle now, and he’s got to maintain that lifestyle and that means he needs to make money. This way he can get to that faster.”
As far as what could come next, Shakhnevich gave his thoughts on the process and implied that McGregor will likely have to appear in court a few more times:
“Sure, I presume that he would need to either plead either to a misdemeanor or a violation which is a non-criminal disposition,” he said. “And sometimes what they do is what’s called a conditional plea, which is a two-step. So if you plea to, for example, a misdemeanor, then you complete certain conditions and then the let you re-plea a non-criminal disposition. And that would probably be the best case scenario. I presume that plea would include some form of community service and of course, taking some form of community service, monetary penalties just to reimburse for all the damage, restitution. And that would mean that if he fulfills all these conditions, maybe he doesn’t have to go back to court to show all that to the judge. Although he probably will because this is a serious case. He’s probably at this point looking forward to at most two more court appearances.”
McGregor hasn’t competed inside of the Octagon since finishing Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. He was then defeated by Floyd Mayweather in a highly publicized boxing match that took place last August.
