Dana White Denies Conor McGregor Bus Attack Was a Publicity Stunt

With some wondering if Conor McGregor's attack on a bus at UFC 223 media day on Thursday was a publicity stunt to generate buzz, UFC President Dana White called that speculation "the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life." 

White sat down with TMZ and shut down any rumors the chaos was staged:

At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, McGregor showed up and went wild, injuring other fighters in the process:

The 29-year-old Irish star was ultimately arrested for his behavior:

Would it be out of the question for a business to generate fake controversy in order to gain attention? Not at all. However, in this case, it seems rather unlikely that this attack was staged. Three different bouts had to be pulled from the UFC 223 card as a result of this incident, with Michael Chiesa needing to be taken to hospital after suffering lacerations to his face.

Footage from inside the bus, where Chiesa was at the time, was posted (and since deleted) by Emil Grzelak (warning: video contains NSFW language):

"

Conor McGregor defo going to jail in USA after this. Insane footage from inside bus. Guy split open Via @emilgrzelak pic.twitter.com/lg8ZCwFk7Y

— Niall Harbison (@NiallHarbison) April 5, 2018"

There are plenty of scenarios in which the UFC could use McGregor to generate buzz—but it could find ways to do so without putting other fighters at risk.

According to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, McGregor was seeking "retaliation" after Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team confronted Artem Lobov—McGregor's teammate and friend—at a hotel earlier this week.

McGregor has helped make UFC piles of money throughout the years. After Thursday's events, though, White wants nothing to do with the star right now, via ESPN's Brett Okamoto (warning: video contains NSFW language):

So no, it does not appear as though the UFC was in on McGregor's shocking attack.