Conor McGregor could face SEVEN YEARS in jail over bus attack as NYPD leak photo of the ashen-faced star being questioned by cops before he was freed on $50,000 bail

• Conor McGregor has been charged with three counts of assault and one count of felony criminal mischief
• Assault charges have a maximum jail sentence of one year and the felony charge of seven years
• However as the athlete has no criminal record it is more likely he will be asked to pay for damages incurred 
• McGregor was released on $50,000 bail after a court hearing on Friday afternoon
• He turned himself in to New York City police on Thursday night after a shocking rampage 
• Video shows the MMA superstar hurl a metal hand truck at his rivals' bus after media day at Barclays Center
• Fall-out led to three cancelled preliminary fights Saturday, with main bout scratched for missed weigh-in
• Now McGregor's future with UFC in doubt as he faces criminal charges and potential league sanctions

MMA fighter Conor McGregor could face seven years in jail following his violent rampage against his rivals on Thursday.

The embattled athlete was charged with three misdemeanor counts of assault and one count of felony criminal mischief in Brooklyn on Friday.

A new leaked image shows the Irishman looking somber as he is grilled by authorities in an interrogation room before his release.  

While the assault charges each have a maximum jail sentence of one year, the felony charge could land McGregor in jail for seven years - the worst possibly outcome for the 29-year-old.

However, as McGregor doesn't have a criminal record in the U.S. it is more likely that he will just have to pay for the damages done.

He was released on $50,000 on Friday after turning himself in to New York police late on Thursday and spending the night in jail. He will be allowed to retain his passport while facing charges in a rampage that left several injured, but is due back in court on June 14.

Whether or not the incident will affect McGregor's future ability to enter and work in the U.S. will depend on how the court process plays out, and how skillfully his lawyers respond, said Scott Bratton, a partner at Magaret W. Wong & Associates immigration law firm who is not connected to the case.

'If he's convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, it could have implications for his ability to come back, and it may make it very difficult to come back' to the U.S.,' Bratton told DailyMail.com. 

If McGregor were convicted of assault with aggravating circumstances, his visa could be revoked - and getting another one would be difficult. 'If he's inadmissible due to crimes, he'd have to get waivers' to reenter the U.S.,' Bratton said. 

In all likelihood, however, McGregor's lawyers will push for a plea deal that specifically avoids convictions on charges that could impact his immigration status 

McGregor's net worth has been estimated at $85million. His friend and co-defendant Cian Cowley, a 25-year-old Dublin native charged with assault in the incident, was also granted bail of $25,000 and permission to travel at the Friday hearing.

The judge issued orders of protection against McGregor and Cowley, barring them from contacting the alleged victims in Thursday's rampage on penalty of forfeiting their bond. 

UFC President Dana White said Friday he spoke to McGregor via text and the brawler said the confrontation "had to be done."

"It was probably the worst conversation we ever had," White told FS1's "First Things First" on Friday. "We talked yesterday before he turned himself in.

"It's not that I don't think he understood what happened. He justified it. It was justified to him."

White said the 29-year-old McGregor said he was sorry about the fighters who were injured, but, "this had to be done." 

McGregor walked free from the courthouse wearing white sneakers, jeans and a dark blue polo shirt buttoned to cover his neck tattoos. His sneakers had no shoelaces, though they were laced when he was transported to the courthouse earlier Friday. 

Earlier on Friday, detectives led McGregor in handcuffs out of the 78th Precinct on Friday morning and loaded him into the back of a dark sedan waiting outside. He said nothing as the press shouted questions.

Police booking records listed him at 155lbs - the exact weigh-in limit for the UFC lightweight division whose championship belt McGregor has vacated by failing to fight for 18 months.

The winner of Saturday's UFC 223 main event at Barclays Center was set to take the belt, but that bout was initially scratched when one contender failed to make weigh in, and three preliminary fights were canceled over the fall-out from McGregor's rampage in the arena during media day.   

Late Friday, organizers announced that the title match would go forward with a new card: McGregor nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov versus the new challenger, Al Iaquinta. The winner will take the lightweight belt that McGregor vacated.

McGregor's future with the UFC has been thrown into doubt by the affair, which league officials condemned in harsh words. As well, he is not an American citizen and thus could be denied future entry into the country if convicted of the charges.

The incident, which led to some injuries and the cancellation of several fights, unfolded on Thursday as the UFC held a press conference for Saturday's fight card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. McGregor and his entourage entered through a side entrance and attacked a van containing a group of other fighters.

Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov was in the van and may have been the target of the McGregor's rage. The 29-year-old Russian recently had a public confrontation with Artem Lobov, a friend and training partner of McGregor's who was scratched from his own fight on Saturday because of his involvement in Thursday's incident.

The footage shows McGregor approaching the bus as it inched towards the truck elevators to exit the building. At one point he can be seen running for a dolly before picking it up and throwing it at the moving vehicle, breaking a window through which passengers can be seen.

'Approximately 20 guys were apparently let in through the doors by the Mac Life guys, who were credentialed here,' UFC president Dana White explained, referencing McGregor's brand and its employees who allegedly helped the Dublin native and his crew enter Barclays Center.

'They opened the doors for them, through an entrance, they stormed the building, got down to the loading docks where the fighters were getting on the buses and started to attack the buses, throwing trash cans and dollies and things like that,' White continued. 'Broke one of the windows and cut Michael Chiesa real bad. He cut his head and cut his face. 

'[UFC fighter] Rose Namajunas was apparently almost hit. She's super upset right now... Hurt one of our employees, broke one of our employee's knuckles.' 

Footage from the scene shows McGregor attempting to hurl a guard rail through the window of the van full of fighters before being prevented by security.

The Dubliner can then be seen trying to do the same with a trash can before being thwarted once again. 

The confrontation led to several injuries and the cancellation of three of Saturday's scheduled bouts. 

Lightweight Michael Chiesa suffered a laceration to his face and, as a result, was forced to pull from Saturday's event, the UFC announced Thursday evening. Chiesa tweeted to say the New York State Athletic Commission had decided to remove him from his bout against Anthony Pettis.

Addressing his opponent, the 30-year-old Colorado native said: 'I'm devastated to say the least. @Showtimepettis I hope to run this match up ASAP, June 9th in your backyard. That's all I have to say for now. Much love.'

Flyweight Ray Borg was also scratched ahead of his bout with Brandon Moreno due to 'multiple corneal abrasions', the UFC said in a statement.

And because the featherweight Lobov was involved in instigating the fracas, his bout with Alex Caceres was also cancelled.

Making matters worse for the UFC, Max Holloway was not medically cleared to fight Nurmagomedov in the main event. Now another fighter will be needed to step in on extremely short notice or the main event will be cancelled.  

Police and EMS were called to the scene according to White who described the event as 'the most disgusting thing that ever happened in the history' of the UFC.

McGregor was scheduled to lose his UFC lightweight belt on Saturday to the winner of the title bout between Max Holloway and Nurmagomedov - a contest that is now up in the air because Holloway was not medically cleared to fight Saturday.

I am laughing inside. You [McGregor] broke window? Why? Come inside. If you real gangster why don’t you come inside? This is big history gangster place. Brooklyn. You want to talk to me? Send me location. I am going to come. No problem. Khabib Nurmagomedov

White previously ruled that McGregor, the first UFC fighter to hold two world titles simultaneously, would have to forfeit the lightweight belt to whomever won that fight because the Irishman has not participated in a UFC event since 2016 - nearly a year before his doomed boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August of 2017.

McGregor gave a clumsy reaction to White's decision on Twitter: 'You's'll strip me of nothing you's do nothing c****.' 

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani caught up with Nurmagomedov, who said that he is 'laughing inside.'

'You broke window?' he asked rhetorically. 'Why? Come inside. If you real gangster why don’t you come inside? This is big history gangster place. Brooklyn. You want to talk to me? Send me location. I am going to come. No problem.'

pic.twitter.com/df6GJCrklA

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 5, 2018

Nurmagomedov, a front-runner to be McGregor's next opponent, had a run-in with Lobov earlier this week, threatening him if he ever spoke his name again.

'Never say my name,' Nurmagomedov said in a clip that was later posted to YouTube. 'You got me? I didn't hear you, motherf*****.'

Lobov is a long-time friend and training partner of McGregor's and it is likely Thursday's incident was a response to this altercation. 

He has been pulled from UFC 223 as a result of the incident. 

'Artem was [in the group of people involved],' White said. 'Artem's off the card. That fight's not happening.' 

The winner of Saturday's bout seemed likely to be among the top contenders for the next big-money fight with McGregor, although all of that appears up in the air now. 

White previously said McGregor, UFC's biggest box office attraction, would fight this year.

Now, though, White says he doesn't want anything to do with McGregor. 

'Right now, absolutely not,' White said, as quoted by ESPN. 'Do you want to be in business with Conor McGregor right now? Do you want to chase this guy for interviews and buy his fights? I don't think anybody is going to want to right now.

'I don't know if he's on drugs or what his deal is, but to come and do this and act like this? You're talking about a guy who has a baby. He just had a kid.'

Nurmagomedov was the only fighter in New York who skipped the open workout and instead turned the session into a Q&A with fans. He tossed T-shirts to fans asking the best questions and posed for a selfie with a kid in a papakha.

One fan shouted if he would call out McGregor after the fight.

'We're going to make him a little bit humble,' Nurmagomedov said.