Watch: When Conor McGregor created a scene at Bellator by violently confronting veteran referee Marc Goddard
Conor McGregor has a history of wild confrontations throughout his career in the UFC and is rightfully nicknamed 'The Notorious'.
However, there was a particular instance when the Irishman went berserk at a Bellator event to celebrate with teammate Charlie Ward. McGregor jumped the fence after Ward's victory over John Redmond at Bellator 187 in 2017.
The Crumlin native was stopped by referee Marc Goddard, who asked him to leave, but was met with a violent shove by the former UFC lightweight champion. There was also footage of the Irishman slapping a Bellator staffer on his way out.
Goddard later explained his side of the tale in the aftermath of the incident, saying in a Facebook post:
"I was trying to communicate with Charlie Ward and then trying to tell Conor to leave, it wasn’t done yet. This is when Conor McGregor began firstly his verbal assault in my direction. My only thought at this point was to notify Charlie Ward, and his corner team, of my decision at the time and restore order to the fighting area."
Watch the incident below:
Conor McGregor later apologized for his actions at the event in a lengthy post on Instagram, saying:
"I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin. While trying to support a loyal teammate and friend, I let my emotions get the best of me and acted out of line... I’ve always learned from my mistakes and this will be no different." [sic]
See his post below:
Goddard is considered among the sport's top referees, despite a complicated past with McGregor dating back to the regional circuit.
Conor McGregor and Marc Goddard's infamous history
The history between the pairing dates back to Cage Warriors when the Irishman was part of the promotion before joining the UFC. McGregor got the better of Dave Hill, who trained with Goddard and won the featherweight championship in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland.
.@TheNotoriousMMA showing off his ground game! 🐍
June 2nd - #OnThisDay in 2012, the former champion submitted Dave Hill in front of the Dublin crowd 🇮🇪 https://t.co/v5hRM5X0FS
Conor McGregor last fought in the promotion in 2012. After two years, his promotional record was 8-1 in Cage Warriors. He also won the featherweight and lightweight titles in his last two bouts before joining the UFC.
McGregor claimed the lightweight title by beating Ivan Buchinger. He would go on to famously recreate the same feat in Dana White's promotion by defeating Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez for the undisputed featherweight and lightweight belts, respectively.