Several eyebrows were raised when Ray Borg was booked to compete on the same fight card as Conor McGregor.
It was reported last week that Borg was scheduled to fight at UFC 229, which will be closed out by the monster lightweight title fight between McGregor and 155lbs champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
But the meeting between Borg and fellow former flyweight challenger, Joseph Benavidez, was quickly rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 139 in November, according to the Denver Post.
It has been suggested by several media members that the reason behind the decision to move Borg’s bout was the fact that he was one of the fighters that McGregor was ordered to stay away from in the Irishman’s sentencing for his now-infamous bus attack in Brooklyn.
Confirmed Joe Benavidez vs. Ray Borg moved from Oct. 6 in Vegas to Nov. 10 in Denver. First reported by Denver Post. Sounds like it's for the reason I pointed out yesterday … the order of protection on Borg, which was part of the plea deal McGregor agreed to.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 7, 2018
Borg was on the coach to which McGregor and his friends laid siege in April and ‘The Tazmexican Devil’ was pulled from the UFC 223 card after being injured by glass which was shattered by the former featherweight and lightweight champion.
After pleading guilty to his disorderly conduct charge two weeks ago, McGregor was given a list of several people with whom he could have no contact until July 2020.
“I am issuing orders of protection in favour of Ozzy Arias, Raymond Borg, Jason Leadbetter, Michael Chiesa, and Richardo Chico,” the judge said. “By this, you are ordered to stay away from these individuals.”
Borg maintains that there is no bad blood with ‘The Notorious’ despite requiring medical attention for glass shards in his eye five months ago.
“After having a kid and watching him go through what he had to go through, I learned that there’s not a whole lot of room for hate,” Borg told MMA Fighting. “Everything that happened with me and Conor, I don’t hate the dude no more.”
There could be several reasons for Borg’s fight being rescheduled but it is very possible that the UFC decided to save their biggest star from any potential legal problems by simply moving the bout to a new event.
