Newly-released CCTV surveillance footage has shown the exact moment that Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor grabbed a fan's phone and smashed it during an altercation.
McGregor, 30, was charged with strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief after being arrested for slapping a phone out of the hand of 22-year-old Ahmed Abdirzak. McGregor then allegedly smashed the phone, and CCTV cameras were able to capture the exact moment that the altercation occurred.
Here's the moment McGregor smashed the phone:Shortly after the event, Abdirzak said to MirrorOnline recounted the altercation with McGregor, with the 22-year-old believing that he was indeed assaulted, saying it all started when he went to the MMA fighter for a handshake.
"He gave me his hand for me to shake, I have that on camera," Abdirzak explained.
"I’ve got my phone out, I’m recording me shaking Conor McGregor’s hand. He pulls me in with his hand and with his right-hand slaps my hand with the phone. Like proper power. Full power. Slap my wrist. The phone falls to the floor. His security push me out."
"He starts stamping on my phone, picks my phone up off the floor, puts it in his pocket, does the McGregor walk, gets in his chauffeur car and says 'F*** you' and goes away," finished the 22-year-old, but Conor McGregor is set to avoid jail time for the attack.
Had he been convicted of the charges, McGregor could have reportedly faced up to six years in prison, but Abdirzak's lawsuit was dropped, after TMZ reported that the MMA fighter settled out of court.
McGregor still has to face courts in the United States for charges of felony robbery and misdemeanour criminal mischief, but his lawyer Sam Rabin is adamant his client won't spend a day in jail.
"I believe at the end of the day that we will successfully defend this case," he said to Newstalk Breakfast at the time. "I can't tell you what the outcome will be, but I certainly don't see him going to jail over something like this," added Rabin.
