It was highly anticipated that UFC 229 would bring in a lot of revenue. And the event has lived up to its expectations.
A jaw-dropping performance was expected from the two powerhouses of UFC; Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, and the fans were not disappointed as they witnessed a mesmerizing collision. Khabib smothered his rival up till 4th round to re-assert his undisputed lightweight king status. However, it was the post-fight brawl that came as a bolt from the blue.
Right after dispatching a grueling defeat to his bitter rival, the Dagestan native jumped off the octagon to attack Conor’s teammate Dillon Danis.
Seeing him leap over the cage was enough to trigger an explosion of emotions at both ends. While it is still debatable that who initiated the post-fight brawl, it’s obvious that all fighters involved would be facing some music from UFC. While talking to the media, UFC President Dana White shared his views with TMZ on the probable punishment Khabib would receive for attacking Dillon Danis right after his toiled victory.
“They took his whole purse right now and they’re talking about keeping his purse – I do not think that that should happen. You should not be able to keep his whole purse. I think they should take a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) from him. He absolutely keeps his title. And he’s going to get suspended, so maybe you give him a four to six months suspension.”
This isn’t the first time both fighters have been involved in altercations. The most disturbing of all their feuds is the bus incident that took place this year in April. An enraged Conor McGregor threw a trolley on UFC’s bus that was carrying many fighters including Khabib during UFC 223 fight week. Dana White recalls the incident as the worst thus far in UFC.
“It’s different circumstance, you guys. This wasn’t at an event. This was in the bowels of the Barclay’s Center, it was a completely different situation. [McGregor] was dealing with the state of New York and the police. In this thing [Nurmagomedov] was part of something that was regulated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He was at an event with more people that have ever been at an event for UFC event in Vegas. There were tons of fans there. It’s much different situation.”
Right now, it is difficult to predict what future holds for the reigning lightweight artist. However, Dana White does seem to have a plan following UFC 229 post-fight brawl and it’s something that we all could see coming.
“I don’t know [who’s next for him]. We have to see how this stuff plays out with Khabib and what’s next. Tony Ferguson looked amazing that night, that fight was incredible, so we’ll see what happens.”
