A New York law could potentially see MMA superstar Conor McGregor lose all of his profits from his UFC 229 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and possibly the huge windfall from the launch of his whiskey company, Proper Twelve.
According to a report from showbiz gossip outlet TMZ, Michael Chiesa believes he directly lost out on a UFC title fight as a result of McGregor's actions when the Irishman attacked a bus transporting fighters at a UFC 223 media day earlier this year, and the use of footage of the incident, amounted to a breach of a US law that prevents criminal activity being used to generate profit for the perpetrators.
McGregor was arrested and convicted of disorderly conduct as a result of the attack. Now Chiesa, who was on the bus attacked by McGregor in Brooklyn at UFC 223 and sustained cuts as a result, has filed a lawsuit.
The report also states that Chiesa believes the bus attack was "a pre-meditated publicity stunt" designed to generate additional buzz for McGregor's UFC 229 fight with Nurmagomedov, and Chiesa wants a judge to force McGregor to hand over the profits he made as a result of that fight to the victims of the attack.
The lawsuit is looking to invoke the 'Son of Sam' law that states that those convicted of a crime cannot profit through publicity of their criminal activity.
Chiesa was unable to face Nurmagomedov for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 when Tony Ferguson was ruled out of the bout through injury and backup option Max Holloway was unable to step in due to weight-cutting issues.
Chiesa was originally scheduled to face former world champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 223, but TMZ say Chiesa explained that the UFC approached him to face Nurmagomedov for the title instead, only for the cuts sustained in the bus attack to effectively rule him out of both fights that weekend.
Al Iaquinta stood in instead, and lost via unanimous decision as Nurmagomedov captured the UFC lightweight title. McGregor went on to face Nurmagomedov for the title at UFC 229 but was well beaten by the Russian, who won by fourth-round submission in Las Vegas.
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