Ahmed Abdirzak gives his side of the story as to what allegedly transpired between him and Conor McGregor at a Miami nightclub.
The man whose phone was allegedly smashed and taken away from him by UFC superstar Conor McGregor is talking to media about what supposedly happened on Monday.
Ahmed Abdirzak, a 22-year-old restaurant manager from the United Kingdom, was on vacation with friends, and one of his hangout choices was the LIV Nightclub at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. It was there that he allegedly had his phone punched out of his hand by McGregor, who then stomped on it before picking it up and walking away.
Ahmed told his story to UK tabloid The Daily Mail.
‘He walked away with that trademark McGregor strut that you see him enter the ring with in UFC.
’I’m not going to lie, I was scared for my life – the guy is a lethal weapon.’
The alleged incident occurred at around 5 AM on Monday, as Abdirzak and his friends waited for their rental car at the hotel valet area, where McGregor also was.
‘My friend spotted him on the way out and shouted to him ‘McGregor, McGregor, we’ve come all the way from London’,’ he went on.
’He turned to him and gave him a salute. I said ‘Man dem McGregor’ [a London street expression of friendship and appreciation] and he repeated it word for word, mocking me.
’It seemed good-natured at that point though, he seemed friendly. I wasn’t insulting him or antagonizing him at all.
’I don’t drink, I’ve never touched alcohol in my life. I’ve never done drugs. I was completely sober.’
Ahmed said McGregor began shouting lyrics from the hit rap song Thotiana which Blueface had performed inside the club.
So all seemed fine at the time, but when Abdirzak claims he took his iPhone 8 out to record the scene from 15 feet away, that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
‘He reached out his left hand to greet me, to shake my hand. But then he held my arm so I couldn’t get away,’ said Ahmed.
’His grip was insane. I could tell he was a professional athlete. I thought he’s going to hit me. I was shocked.
’I looked into his face and his eyes were bulging. He was so angry. I don’t know whether he was drunk or on drugs, but he looked f***ked.
’I just remained passive, I didn’t want to fight. Then with his right hand he punched the phone. It was so hard I felt the impact through my entire body.’
‘He did his swagger dance and headed to his black SUV with his entourage surrounding him.
‘I tried to run after him and asked for it back but he just laughed.’
McGregor was arrested and charged with strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief. He is currently a free man after posting $12,500 bond, and his arraignment is scheduled for April 10th.
Noah Abdirzak says his brother is a fan of McGregor’s — their father is evidently a supporter of Khabib Nurmagomedov — but that the alleged encounter left him “very shaken.”
Ahmed didn’t hold back on his thoughts on McGregor as a person, including his belief that Conor should have his US visa revoked due to this being yet another arrest on his record within the past year.
’He’s a dangerous thug, very dangerous. He lives up to his name – notorious. He thinks the normal rules don’t apply to him.
[…]
‘I wouldn’t want to see anyone jailed or deported but I believe in justice,’ he added.
’Coming to the US is a privilege. And if you do bad things you should lose that privilege
’I don’t see why they should let him in again. He’s had enough chances to behave himself already.’
It is expected that we’ll see surveillance footage and any other evidence of the McGregor-Abdirzak confrontation after the arraignment.