MMA superstar Conor McGregor said the clip of him punching an elderly drinker in the head was "like a dagger into my heart," apologising for the assault, APA reports citing Sputniknews.
McGregor told ESPN that the man he punched in the face in Dublin's Marble Arch pub last April “deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it end the way it did.”
“I tried to make amends and I made amends back then. But it doesn't matter. I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility. Whatever comes my way, I will face it. Whatever comes my way, I deserve it,” he said.
McGregor noted that it was completely unacceptable behaviour for him and he owes it to his family and “to the people who trained me in martial arts” to accept responsibility for the matter.
“The reason I got into it was to defend against that kind of scenario. I have been making steps to do better and be better, to see it, it’s like a dagger into my heart as a martial artist," he added.
The victim, a 50-year-old Dubliner, made a statement to the Irish police, but has reportedly told friends he isn't interested in an apology or compensation, only justice. One of his friends told the Irish Sunday Mirror that the man was "minding his own business" when the incident happened.
The fighter faces a minor assault charge after the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was enough evidence to charge him. McGregor is to be summoned to appear at Dublin District Court to answer the charge. If convicted, he will be required to pay a fine for the offence.
Last year, McGregor was convicted of disorderly conduct after throwing a metal trolley at a bus carrying his UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. In March, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion was charged with strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief after stomping on 22-year-old Ahmed Abdirzak's phone in Miami, US, yet the charges were later dropped.
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