Conor McGregor might have to travel a rough road to close out 2017. 

The UFC lightweight champion and combat sports megastar recently made waves at Bellator 187 in Dublin, when he jumped into the cage post-fight to celebrate with teammate Charlie Ward — only for the moment to turn hostile.

McGregor put his hands on referee Marc Goddard and skirted around the cage in a moment of pure chaos, eventually being forced to leave the event altogether. 

Now, it appears McGregor will have to deal with more punishment. 

Mike Mazzulli, president of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, caught up with MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani during an episode of The MMA Hour on Monday, discussing McGregor's actions and the potential fallout. 

Mazzulli, who was the lead regulator for Bellator 187, does not appear interested in taking it easy on the global superstar. 

"The bottom line is: he was unprofessional, disrespectful, and it was not acceptable in my eyes in any situation," Mazzulli said. "I don't care if it's anybody else jumping in the cage — we don't do that as a professional. 

"So, therefore, was I uncomfortable with it? I absolutely was. Was I uncomfortable with Mr. McGregor in there running around? Absolutely."

While Mazzulli recognizes McGregor star power and his impact on the sport, he maintains status does not influence any possible punishment in this situation. 

"Well, the first thing I did was I did explain to everyone that contacted me that I needed 24 hours for a statement, and I stated that, as you know, as everybody else knows, that Mr. McGregor is not bigger than MMA," Mazzulli said. "We all know that. Mr. McGregor may not be around in five years, but MMA will still be here. I think that's very important to understand, that fighter safety is the most important thing in the world. Because without fighter safety, the sport would not proceed to the next level like it always has." 

McGregor, whom Mazzulli confirmed was only attending the event as a fan — not a licensed cornerman — may already be feeling the effects of his actions. 

According to Mazzulli, UFC executives contacted him after the event and said they had pulled McGregor from Dec. 30's UFC 219 fight card as a form of punishment. 

"I had some executives from the UFC contact me within two hours after what occurred, and they basically said to me that it's completely unacceptable in their eyes and that they will be doing something," Mazzulli said. "They did inform me that he was set to be on the Dec. 30 card and he will not be on it. So I do commend the UFC to some extent for doing that." 

Mazzulli himself is still processing all the information, and he told Helwani he will need to meet with his attorneys before a final call is made. From the tone of the conversation, however, it sounds like nothing good is coming for McGregor, and if Mazzulli has his way, the Irishman will be forced to pay a hefty price for his actions. 

"Let me tell you this: If Mr. McGregor was licensed at Mohegan and he did this or he did this, let's say he was licensed at Mohegan and he did this at another commission overseas and he was licensed for me, I would suspend him indefinitely, and I would require for him to come to a hearing and explain himself," Mazzulli said. "Again, I go back to the safety of the fighter. At the end of the day, Mr. [John] Redmond [Ward's opponent] was down, he was unconscious, he was dizzy, and we were unable to provide medical attention to him because he [McGregor] had to dance around that cage and push Mr. Goddard, assault Mr. Goddard, as well as one of the Bellator employees. 

"That's completely and totally unacceptable. I wouldn't even allow somebody in the audience to do that. Now, after he assaulted one of the Bellator employees, he disappeared. He was removed. He went outside. My concern is what occurred in the cage. My concern isn't what's occurring outside on the streets. 

"So again, I'm a policy guy," he continued. "I write policy. I follow policy, and I don't care if you're a kid that has his first pro debut or if you're Conor McGregor. You follow policy, and you follow it to the tee. And if you don't, you're [at] fault, and you have the right to be sanctioned." 

Whatever the final call may be, Mazzulli said he believes one thing to be true: McGregor isn't off the hook by any means just yet. 

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say 'no' [there's no way McGregor will get off without any punishment]," Mazzulli said. "The UFC's going to sanction him, there's no doubt — they already did. They already removed him from the Dec. 30 fight. They already sanctioned him, so they did hit him. He's not going to be making any more money this year." 

Listen to Mazzulli discuss the situation here: 

ABC president Mike Mazzulli discusses Conor McGregor's actions at the end of the Ward-Redmond fight at Bellator 187. https://t.co/rwG1YUGMw9 pic.twitter.com/MmaccdZMRI

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) November 13, 2017