Conor McGregor reacted sharply after the Nevada Athletic Commission slapped him with a fine of $150,000 for his bottle-throwing act ahead of Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) 202 fight against Nate Diazv in August.
The UFC featherweight champion will also have to do 50 hours of community service, in which he has to participate in anti-bullying campaign, the commission decided.
Notably, the UFC 202 pre-match press conference was stopped when the teams of the two fighters were involved in bottle-throwing in Las Vegas. Diaz, who was annoyed following his opponent's late arrival to the meet, reportedly stormed out after which McGregor directed an energy drink can towards the American.
The Irishman went on to defeat Diaz at the UFC 202 by a majority decision thereby successfully avenging his defeat at UFC 196 in March earlier this year.
McGregor apologised for his action during the hearing of the commission saying his emotions failed him in what he considered was a "high-stakes" fight. However, the 28-year-old also came with a cheeky reaction on Twitter, hinting his displeasure at the fine amount.
"I was very, very upset at the incident. It was a high stakes fight, my emotions got the better of me. All I can say is I'm sorry," McGregor was quoted as saying by the Irish Mirror.
"This fight had everything on the line for me. This was the highest stakes fights I've ever been in. I was acting very erratically."
The commission decided unanimously for a stiff penalty and thus raised his fine amount from the initially suggested $25,000 to $50,000, which is 5% of McGregor's earnings from the clash against Diaz. He also faced a possible suspension, which would have made him miss the lightweight title clash of UFC 205 against Eddie Alvarez in November, according to a Yahoo Sports Report.
