Conor McGregor Reveals He Was Supposed to Fight at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro

Had Conor McGregor maintained his composure a couple months ago, he may have had a chance to capture a UFC title in a third weight class.

The Irishman revealed that he was scheduled to fight on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro in an Instagram post on Wednesday where he celebrated his No. 4 ranking on the Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes.

“Made it to number 4 on the Forbes list this year. If I had fought on the agreed May 12th bout in Rio de Janeiro, I would have surpassed Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi to take [second] place,” he wrote.

“Something came up however….Ah well, still under 30.”

That something, of course, is the infamous attack on a charter bus carrying Khabib Nurmagomedov and other fighters at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn two days before UFC 223. McGregor hurled a dolly through a bus window, injuring fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg.

McGregor is facing three charges of assault and one count of criminal mischief for the incident. He is due in court in New York on June 14.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, McGregor would have faced Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight title at UFC 224 had the incident not occurred. McGregor and dos Anjos were initially supposed to square off for dos Anjos’ lightweight belt at UFC 196 in 2016 before the Brazilian withdrew from the contest due to injury.

Dos Anjos is now scheduled to face Colby Covington for the interim 170-pound belt at UFC 225 on Saturday.

Made it to number 4 on the Forbes list this year. If I had of fought on the agreed May 12th bout in Rio De Janeiro, I would have surpassed Ronaldo and Messi to take 2nd place. Something came up however... Ah well, still under 30.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jun 6, 2018 at 10:06am PDT