Referee scolds Conor McGregor cageside during UFC Gdansk

Conor-McGregor-Michael-Conlan-boxing

Conor McGregor seen here standing in the ring before a super bantamweight boxing match between Michael Conlan and Tim Ibarra in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Conor McGregor is always the centre of attention at UFC events…even when he’s merely a spectator.

The UFC lightweight champion attended Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event in Gdansk, Poland to support his close friend and training partner Artem Lobov, which caused a bit of a scene.

Fans at Ergo Arena stood, watched, cheered, jeered and snapped photos of McGregor as the Irish superstar made his way to his seat when Warlley Alves and Salim Touahri were in the middle of their welterweight tilt on the preliminary card.

Once the Alves-Touahri fight concluded, Lobov entered the Octagon for his featherweight bout against Andre Fili.

McGregor was not an official member of Lobov’s corner team but that didn’t stop him from shouting instructions to his pal.

McGregor was so vocal and animated while cageside that referee Marc Goddard stopped to give McGregor a tongue-lashing to quiet him down as Lobov and Fili were trading blows.

“What’s got into you mate? Act professional,” Goddard could be heard telling McGregor before repeating the message in between rounds.

It’s rare for a referee address something happening outside the cage often while a fight is in progress. Fili walked away with a unanimous decision victory over Lobov.

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