UFC's Conor McGregor 'Unlikely' To Face Jail Time Ahead Of Court Hearing

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor is "unlikely" to face any serious jail time, according to various former New York prosecutors, as he gets set for his court hearing.

McGregor is expected to appear in front of a New York court Thursday to learn of his punishment for his actions in April during the build-up to UFC 223 in Brooklyn.

The Irishman infamously hurled a dolly at a bus occupied by multiple UFC fighters — particularly targeting Khabib Nurmagomedov for allegedly threatening McGregor's teammate the previous day — leading to two scheduled fights getting canceled due to injuries from his attack.

He was later charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief. However, reports stated following his arraignment that he was actually charged with two felony counts for criminal mischief, which could land him 11 years in prison, according to New York sentencing guidelines, among other misdemeanors.

But with no previous criminal history, McGregor could get away with zero charges and a plea deal — even if the dolly he hurled does count as a weapon.

"That’s the bigger issue to me," Former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman told USA Today. "If he used a weapon to injure one of the people in the face, that potentially could be upgraded to a felony. I can see him serving time. But people do crimes in Brooklyn, in any jurisdiction in New York or anywhere that are potentially worse than this and they get deals that allow them to not go to jail."

"But for his celebrity status, it’s just a run-of-the-mill case," Former Long Island prosecutor William Kephart added. "People get into arguments and things get broken, fists are flying more times than not. … I would think given the fact that assault charges are misdemeanors and the most serious charge is criminal mischief, it’s unlikely he would face jail time."

McGregor's case will be discussed by his attorney with the District Attorney's office before the hearing and another former prosecutor, Steve Raiser, believes the 29-year-old's celebrity status can work to his advantage.

"The good news for McGregor is that the most serious charge is the property damage charge," Raiser explained. "With no prior criminal history, this will be reduced as part of a plea. Because he is a high-profile athlete, there is a lot of good he can do with the youth. If the DA is smart, they’ll work out a deal which will involve him giving back to the community."

If he is let off with a plea deal, it's good news for UFC president Dana White who claimed last month that pending the hearing, he will discuss McGregor's mixed martial arts future with him as talks of a potential fight with Nurmagomedov will undoubtedly be a topic.

"I’m pretty confident that that is the fight that Conor wants, and I’m pretty confident that that is the fight that Khabib wants," White said. "So, yeah, I could see that happening."