Cian Cowley will face two charges in New York.
Cian Cowley, an MMA fighter from Dalkey in South County Dublin, has been charged with one charge of assault and one charge of criminal mischief after an incident in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed the news to JOE on Friday morning.
Cowley – who has fought as a lightweight and cut his teeth in Thai boxing – is believed to have been in the same group as Conor McGregor, who has himself been charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief in Brooklyn.
McGregor handed himself in to police in Brooklyn on Thursday night and was taken into custody.
McGregor and his entourage were filmed entering the Barclays Center at around 6.30pm (UK time) on Thursday, where they threw a number of items at a bus that was transporting fighters from a media event in the borough.
The 29-year-old was seen to throw a trolley at the front of the bus, breaking a window, with a minor injury caused to one of the passengers during the incident.
UFC President Dana White explained the background to the incident.
“What happened here today is Conor and approximately 20 guys were apparently let in through the doors by the Mac Life guys who were credentialed here,” White told MMA Junkie.
“They opened the doors for them through an entrance and they stormed the building. They got down to the loading docks, where the fighters were getting on the buses, and they started to attack the buses.
“They were throwing trash cans, dollies and things like that. They broke one of the windows and cut Michael Chiesa really badly. He cut his head, he cut his face.
“Rose Namajunas was apparently almost hit. She’s super upset right now and basically left to walk back to the hotel.
“They hurt one of our employees, broke one of our employee’s knuckles.
“Obviously everybody is shaken up. When 30 thugs storm a building when these guys were all cutting weight and getting ready for a fight.
“This is the most disgusting thing that’s happened in the history of the company.
“There’s a warrant out for Conor McGregor’s arrest, police are looking for him right now. His plane cannot take off. He cannot leave the state of New York with this warrant. He’ll be grounded.
“I’m assuming, eventually, that if they don’t catch him then he’ll turn himself in.
“You can imagine that he’s going to be sued beyond belief and this was a really bad career move for him.”
