Featherweight prospect A.J. McKee kept his perfect career record intact in the main event of Bellator 187, but it was UFC superstar Conor McGregor who stole the spotlight with a nasty incident of Friday’s event.

McKee (10-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) scored a third-round technical submission win over Brian Moore (10-6 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) in the headlining bout of the card, which took place at 3Arena in Dublin and aired in the U.S. on Spike via tape delay.

However, McKee’s victory was overshadowed by an ugly Conor McGregor episode that followed an earlier win by his SBG Ireland teammate Charlie Ward (4-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), who earned a first-round TKO win over John Redmond (7-13 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a featured main-card contest. McGregor, who was not serving as a licensed cornerman at the event, scaled the cage to celebrate with his teammate and then shoved Marc Goddard when the veteran referee tried to have the UFC lightweight champion removed from the cage while Redmond received medical attention.

Additional footage later showed that McGregor took a swipe at a Bellator employee who had tried to get “Notorious” down from the top of the cage.

MMAjunkie reached out to UFC officials for comment but have yet to hear back. Meanwhile, Bellator brass simply stated they intend to look further into the matter.

The card was regulated by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, and director Mike Mazzulli suggested to MMAjunkie that further actions could be coming.

“Mr. McGregor is not bigger than the sport of MMA,” Mazzulli stated to MMAjunkie’s Steve Marrocco via text.

In the night’s co-feature, Sinead Kavanagh (5-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) made quick work of an outmatched Maria Casanova (3-6-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), scoring a TKO win in just 34 seconds.

The two engaged quickly in the center to start the fight, but the first real flurry from Kavanagh sent her opponent to the floor. Kavanagh quickly jumped into mount and rained down punches, earning the lighting-quick stoppage.

In additional action, Kevin Ferguson Jr. (2-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), the man best known as “Baby Slice,” picked up his second consecutive win, submitting Fred Freeman (1-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) via rear-naked choke under two minutes.

The catchweight bout started with a few exchanges on the feet, but Ferguson Jr. quickly flashed his developing skillset by locking the body and taking the action to the floor, where he enjoyed top position until eyeing the opportunity to lock in the fight-ending submission at the 1:57 mark of the opening frame.

Bellator 187 results include:

MAIN CARD

• A.J. McKee def. Brian Moore via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:14
• Maria Casanova def. Sinead Kavanagh via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:34
• Kevin Ferguson Jr. def. Fred Freeman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:57
• Charlie Ward def. John Redmond via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 4:59
• Paul Redmond def. Sergio de Jesus Santos via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Alex Lohore def. Richard Kiely via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 4:25 to defend BAMMA welterweight title
• Daniel Barez def. Andy Young via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) to claim BAMMA flyweight title
• Dominique Wooding def. Blaine O’Driscoll via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:47
• Dylan Tuke def. David Khalsa via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:09
• Ion Pascu def. Omar Jesus Santana via split decision (27-28, 28-27, 28-26) – Round 3, 5:00

For more on Bellator 187, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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