Remember when Conor McGregor threw that dolly through a bus window in Brooklyn, N.Y., injuring two fighters and ultimately destroying UFC 223’s fight card just days before showtime? It was “the most despicable thing in UFC history,” according to company president Dana White at the time. White was so furious — and perplexed — that he even wondered whether or not his biggest box office draw was “on drugs.”
Well, it appears that time — even if its less than six months fresh — does indeed heal all wounds. Especially when the spectacular footage can be used to promote the biggest UFC fight of 2018 … possibly of all time.
White — who made an abrupt about-face on the situation shortly after it unfolded — recently explained the organization’s decision to include the “despicable” footage in its video trailers to promote UFC 229, which will feature a main event between McGregor and Lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in a recent BBC interview.
“It was definitely something bad that I didn’t expect from anybody,” he said. “He got in trouble legally in New York. He had to go to court and hire lawyers and go through lawsuits and all kinds of stuff that goes along with something like that. Obviously, going into the fight, it’s definitely part of the story line.”
Nurmagomedov, of course, was on that bus. And he was the inspiration for the attack after his heated hotel hallway confrontation with McGregor’s good friend and training partner, Artem Lobov, prior to UFC 223. Unsurprisingly, Lobov was recently rumored to be competing at UFC 229 alongside McGregor, taking on Nurmagomedov teammate, Zubayra Tukhugov.
UFC isn’t done milking the big Team McGregor vs. Team Khabib rivalry. Indeed, UFC plans to take it all the way to the bank … and then some.