Apparently, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) are only half as cruel as those who were criticizing them for the reported $150,000 fine handed down to Conor McGregor for his end in the “Bottle-Gate” fiasco with Nate Diaz at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference thought they were.
Bob Bennett, the current Executive Director of the NSAC, told MMAFighting.com on Saturday that the media reported the wrong information regarding the fine handed down to the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion for his end in the incident ahead of his 170-pound rematch with Diaz, and that he in fact will only be paying $75,000 in fines.
Upon learning of McGregor’s reaction to their ruling, he also decided to share his belief that “The Notorious” one doesn’t “understand how the system works when he’s fined.”
“It appears the media and others got it wrong. I understand that he’s upset,” Bennett said this weekend. “I understand that he commands a phenomenal following and paydays and he’s a world-renowned champ. I get that he’s frustrated — $75,000 is a lot of money. But I think the remark is inappropriate. In fairness to Conor — and I say this with the utmost respect — I just don’t think he understands how the system works when he’s fined.”
Bennett continued, explaining that in terms of the full scope, the NSAC didn’t have an agenda of any kind, pointing out that neither McGregor or Diaz were suspended, nor were anyone in their camps.
Additionally, as shown in the Nick Diaz situation where the Commission initially handed down a five-year suspension for a controversial positive marijuana metabolites test result, prompting justified outrage from Diaz fans and the MMA community who knew that it ultimately meant they chose to use their power to essentially purposefully and knowingly end a man’s career for an offense that didn’t warrant such a punishment, they will use that same power to reverse the ruling and alter it accordingly.
Basically, they’re not afraid to admit they are wrong when it is the shared belief of the masses.
Bennett insists $75,000 is a fair and just penalty given the circumstances.
“[McGregor] wasn’t suspended, nor were people in either fighter’s camp that participated in this,” Bennett said. “The Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t go after anybody else. … I’ll be the first to say that we’ve got it right sometimes and we haven’t gotten it right other times. When we don’t, we want to right the wrong.”
Time will tell if “The King,” who looks to make history as UFC’s first simaltaneous two-division champion when he fights Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of UFC’s first event in the state of New York in November, decides that $75,000 is an acceptable fine, as he claimed that he will never fight in Nevada again when he learned of the $150,000 figure.
UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor kicks off UFC action in the Empire State on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from the world-famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City.
Join us here at MMANews.com on 11/12 for our live results coverage of the UFC 205 pay-per-view, including live in-round updates
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