UFC lightweight contender Michael Chisea says when Conor McGregor attacked a bus full of fighters outside the Barclays Center last April, it cost him both his UFC 223 bout with Anthony Pettis the following night and ultimately a shot at the 155-pound title.

Chisea insists he would have been the first choice to replace Max Holloway after the state athletic commission pulled him from the fight when he failed to make weight. The opportunity then ended up going to  Al Iaquinta.

“I lost a title shot, I have proof, I was the highest-ranked guy on the card,” Chiesa said in a recent interview via MMAmania.com.  “I would have stepped in to fight Khabib at the drop of a dime. I’ve always liked the way I matched up against him and I got f****d out of that opportunity.”

McGregor, who was about to be stripped of his lightweight title for not defending it in time, stormed a parking garage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York along with his entourage and threw a barricade at a bus carrying fighters leaving a media event for UFC 223. Chisea and another fighter were injured by shattered glass in the melee and were forced to pull out of their scheduled matches for the following night.

“To lose the opportunity, that’s tough,” Chisea said. “Opportunities like that don’t come along. I could strike along 15 wins in a row and still not get a title shot and I lost my opportunity and my dream.”

Meanwhile, McGregor’s court case for the brawl remains unresolved. The 29-year-old Irishman had his first hearing in the case several weeks ago, where the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said negotiations for a potential plea deal are ongoing.