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Khabib Nurmagomedov has suggested that his infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl with Conor McGregor didn’t really upset top-tier UFC officials. Nurmagomedov insinuated that this was likely because the iconic brawl elevated the sport of MMA, resultantly benefitting the UFC.
The long-running Khabib Nurmagomedov-Conor McGregor rivalry reached a boiling point at UFC 229 on October 6th, 2018. ‘The Eagle’ defeated archrival Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission in their UFC lightweight title fight at UFC 229 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He then jumped off the octagon and attacked McGregor’s cornerman, Dillon Danis. Nurmagomedov later revealed that he did so because of offensive remarks made by McGregor and Danis regarding his religion, family, and other similar matters.
Nurmagomedov’s attack on Danis resulted in a huge brawl at the T-Mobile Arena. Thankfully, local law enforcement and security personnel deescalated the situation and separated Nurmagomedov’s team from McGregor’s team. Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark, Nurmagomedov recalled the incident and stated:
“I remember everything, almost. And it’s like, people never talk about one thing. People never talk about when I jump, with me jump all this sport, to another level. No, I talk about like, this fight and everything what happened after fight. Of course, Dana, Hunter, everybody was like, oh, a little bit upset. Like, they act.”
Daniel Cormier chimed in and jestingly questioned whether UFC president Dana White, UFC CBO (chief business officer) Hunter Campbell, and other UFC officials were indeed upset. ‘The Eagle’ replied by saying:
“No, I don’t think so. Only one guy was upset. Me. When I go to the locker room, I didn’t have my belt. And I go, ‘Where’s my belt?’ He say, ‘Brother, please, be relaxed. I’m gonna bring you [the belt].’”
Khabib Nurmagomedov later received his belt and went on to defend it two more times before retiring from MMA.
Watch Nurmagomedov discuss the topic at 0:49 in the video below:
Conor McGregor unlikely to rematch Khabib Nurmagomedov, eyes 2023 comeback
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father and longtime coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away in July 2020. Following this, ‘The Eagle’ only competed once more, retiring from MMA after his last bout in October 2020. This was purportedly because his mother didn’t want him to continue his fighting career without his father by his side.
Nurmagomedov has consistently maintained that he’s unlikely to ever compete in MMA again. As for Conor McGregor, he’s coming off back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier in 2021. McGregor is currently recovering from the gruesome leg injury that he suffered in their July 2021 match-up. He is reportedly eyeing a comeback in February/March 2023.
