Michael Chiesa’s attorneys are claiming Conor McGregor staged the attack on a bus ahead of UFC 223 in order to drum up publicity for a future fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
That comes from the latest filings in the ongoing lawsuit where Chiesa is seeking damages from McGregor after he was injured during the melee at the Barclays Center back in April.
McGregor and a group of friend stormed through the arena and ended up launching several objects at a bus filled with fighters in an attempt to get to Nurmagomedov, who had been involved in an earlier altercation with their teammate Artem Lobov.
McGregor ended up throwing a moving dolly that shattered a window with glass shards then cutting Chiesa, who was then pulled from his fight against Anthony Pettis at UFC 223.
In the latest court documents filed on Dec. 20 (first reported by TMZ), Chiesa is claiming that the entire ordeal was a publicity stunt that ended with him being injured and unable to compete in one of the biggest fights of his career.
“Knowing that a fight with Nurmagomedov was impending in the professional MMA upcoming fight known at UFC 229, McGregor purposefully staged and engaged in the criminal acts of April 5, 2018 in a deliberate attempt to create publicity resulting from the havoc, mayhem and injury that he caused, in this reckless publicity stunt and promotional effort for this upcoming fight with the intent to profit from same, with a complete disregard for the injuries he would have caused and did cause to others including the plaintiff (Chiesa),” Chiesa’s attorneys wrote in the paperwork obtained on Friday.
The documents in the lawsuit also allege that the incident was used as a way to not only promote McGregor’s upcoming fight but also to help boost sales of his Proper 12 whiskey.
The lawsuit specifically mentions McGregor’s performance at the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference where he addressed the bus attack and said if he had been allowed on that bus that Nurmagomedov would be dead.
As a result of the attack, the lawsuit also alleges that Chiesa missed out on a huge fight with Pettis as well as a potential opportunity to face Nurmagomedov in the main event after his original opponent Max Holloway was unable to compete.
The lawsuit claims that Chiesa would have been selected as a replacement thanks to a text message he says he received from a ‘UFC executive corporate officer’.
“As a result of plaintiff (Chiesa) being unable to and/or precluded from competing in the fight against Anthony Pettis, plaintiff suffered substantial disappointment, depression and other emotional damages.
“As a result of the plaintiff being unable to and/or precluded from competing in the main event championship title fight against Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship, plaintiff suffered additional substantial disappointment, additional depression and other emotional damages. Plaintiff was additionally damaged due to the lost opportunity, suffered additional substantial economic damages and suffered additional damage to his standing in the UFC.”
The lawsuit says that McGregor should not reap the financial benefits of UFC 229 or sales from his Proper 12 whiskey and instead Chiesa should be paid those profits as part of his grievance against the former UFC champion.
The lawsuit mentions the ‘Son of Sam’ law, which is a statute that prevents criminals from profiting off of illegal actions and says that the money earned from those activities should be paid to the victims instead.
In response, McGregor’s spokesperson offered a statement when speaking to TMZ.
“This complaint is a routine but sad attempt to grab publicity in a case that should have been resolved months ago. We are pleased that Chiesa’s quick recovery allows him to continue fighting,” Karen Kessler said on behalf of McGregor.
Chiesa has fought since the incident in Brooklyn and has another bout scheduled for UFC 232 in Las Vegas on Dec. 29 when he takes on former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit.
