The undefeated, reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has stated that he would bid farewell to UFC if his teammate faces any music from UFC for hitting his long-standing rival Conor McGregor inside the octagon post-fight UFC 229.
Khabib’s teammate Russian artist Zubaira Tukhugov entered the octagon and hit Conor McGregor after the Dagestani Eagle jumped off the octagon to dispatch a flying kick to Conor’s teammate Dillon Danis who had been provoking Nurmagomedov with profane comments throughout the fight.
On October 6 (Saturday), Russian unbeaten lightweight artist successfully defended his belt for the first time against former two-division champion Conor McGregor by submitting his rival to a fourth round submission via neck crank. Now the Dagestan native boasts a totally clean resume of 27-0 in his pro bouts and 11-0 in UFC.
Footage of the post-fight scuffle show Zubaira Tukhugov exchanging some blows with the Mystic Mac for a short time. During the chaos, McGregor was attacked by three members from Team Khabib; however, the Irishman has refused to file any charges against the assault.
Tukhugov was to face off McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov in late October, but the fight has been cancelled considering that it would further deepen the rivalry between the two lightweight artists, Conor and Khabib.
The Dagestani Eagle has declared that he would end his career with UFC, if it tries to fire Tukhugov for his unexpected skirmish. The current lightweight champion took to Twitter and Instagram stating,
“If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother. If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I’ll break it myself. You canceled Zubaira’s fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor. But don’t forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video.”
Khabib couldn’t get to take away his $2 million purse after a hard-toiled brawl against Conor due to the post-fight scandal. Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) hasn’t allowed Khabib to take his prize money until it completes its investigation for the incident.
But Khabib doesn’t seem to care about the monetary aspect of the fight much. According to the Russian,
“You can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end.”
It is expected that once the investigation is complete, Khabib could face fine and suspension, if it is proved that he was the one to initiate the fight. However, UFC President Dana White has cleared the dust off about the future of lightweight title, stating that Khabib would get to keep the belt.
Though the incident added a sour taste to the whole event, Khabib’s actions were not close to what the Irishman surprised everyone with this year in April. When Khabib refused to come out of the bus, the Notorious threw a trolley at the UFC bus, injuring several fighters onboard. However, his prime rival, Nurmagomedov remained unhurt. The Russian discussed about the severity of McGregor’s senseless act in his post.
“I would like to address @ufc. Why didn’t you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there. Why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family? Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started. In any case, punish me, @zubairatukhugov has nothing to do with that. If you think that I’ll keep silent then you are mistaken.”
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