A UFC icon has given his take after footage of Conor McGregor appearing to strike a man in an Ibiza nightclub emerged earlier this week.
This article contains graphic/violent content, which some viewers may find upsetting.
On Tuesday, footage emerged of McGregor appearing to punch a man inside an Ibiza nightclub.
In the aftermath of the incident, several eyewitnesses have come forward with their versions of what happened and why it may have occurred.
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One witness told the Sun: “Clearly something’s been said to annoy him and he’s reacted very badly.
“The guy seemed to fall to the floor, and his mates came to pick him up and get him away.
“There [didn't appear to be any] consequences for Conor, but the guy he punched was taken away, and I didn’t see him again.”
It was initially unclear who the man McGregor struck was, but on Thursday evening, O Beach Club owner Wayne Lineker shed some light on the situation, releasing a statement.
"Thought about this post a lot," Lineker wrote.
"This is my very close friend who has worked at Ocean for eight years, he has the most special heart, and in all of the years that I’ve known him, he has never raised his voice once.
"He took two punches from Conor McGregor in Pacha for absolutely no reason.
"Let me introduce you to Joe Gooomez. He took the punches like a champion.
"I’ve since deleted my post of Conor at Ocean on Sunday. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.
"We at Ocean Beach Ibiza will always put our family first #wearefamily."
Also on Thursday, former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen gave his thoughts on the incident, and he did not hold back.
“This is silly and ridiculous… there’s no reason that a professional fighter would ever get in a fight outside of their profession,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
“It would be baffling as to why that would happen, you know the kind of people that go to nightclubs, by the way, they’re not gangsters like me. Most of them are 19 or 20, they have an older brother with an ID [to get them in]… that is the majority of them.”
He added: "It’s very hard for me, though, to break down this video and not give Conor a hard time for being out at a nightclub. I just think that’s a weird thing to do.
“I think it’s a really weird thing when you are not single to need to go out into a social environment to drink. I think it’s a very weird thing to do when… if the only goal that you’ve got is to drink when you own a liquor company, it’s very odd that you leave home.”
Topics: Conor McGregor, UFC, MMA
Luke Davies