McGregor, Khabib cop longer bans over UFC 229 brawl
Mixed martial arts stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will remain suspended pending full investigation of the melee following UFC 229, Nevada combat sports regulators said.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously on the suspensions, with chairman Anthony Marnell ordering both fighters to be present at a December 10 hearing.
Russia’s Nurmagomedov and Ireland’s McGregor had already been suspended for 10 days – the maximum term fighters can be banned pending a hearing.
The sanctions stem from the extraordinary post-fight brawl that erupted after unbeaten Nurmagomedov choked out McGregor on October 6 in Las Vegas.
Nurmagomedov had barely released his hold after McGregor tapped out when the Russian launched himself over the Octagon fence, targeting a taunting member of McGregor’s camp.
The five-member board also voted to release half of Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse, which had been withheld immediately after the fight.
Marnell said he believed that retaining $1 million would allow Nurmagomedov to meet his expenses but still be “enough money to keep this contestant’s interest in this hearing”.
Marnell also said that he would have withheld McGregor’s $3 million purse if he had seen video that showed McGregor’s role in fueling the brawl.
The first video to emerge appeared to show the Irish star being taken by surprise by three of Nurmagomedov’s teammates coming after him inside the Octagon.
Once the probe is complete, the commission has the power to issue lifetime bans, although such a punishment is considered unlikely.
McGregor ripped over ‘weak excuses’
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager has responded to an Instagram post from Conor McGregor explaining why he lost at UFC 229.
The fight between Khabib and McGregor might be over, but the war of words continues.
Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, kept the rivalry hot on Wednesday, ripping McGregor in a post on Instagram.
The whole exchange started after McGregor broke down his fight against Nurmagomedov in his own post on Instagram.
A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:11pm PDT
Abdelaziz felt compelled to respond to McGregor’s take on the bout.
Abdelaziz kicked things off by calling McGregor a “weak soul.”
Then, he launched into his rant, calling McGregor a “little child,” saying he “put your white flag in the middle of battle” and told McGregor to “go open a liquor store.”
1) When a man gets held against his will and listens to you gasp for air, hopeless on your back how do you win a fight? If this was a street fight you’d be done. You got out grappled and out wrestled, looking like a little child.
2) Second round – the wrestler/grappler out struck you and hit you with a K Bomb and put you on your ass, taken down and hit with missile strikes from the guard and getting smashed in front of your whole family & crew.
3) Khabib stood the whole round with you to make a point that you’re a front runner. If you can knock someone else you give up like you did 5 times in your fighting career. THEN YOU MENTIONED THIS IS ONLY BUSINESS YOU PUT YOUR WHITE FLAG IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE
4th round – God put mercy in Khabibs heart and decided to show the world you’re a tap machine and put on a neck crank that wasn’t even a choke. The proper technique is 2 on 1 try to peel the arm and defend the neck crank. You put your two hands on the ground and your hand only came up when you were ready to tap.
Abdelaziz finished the post by telling McGregor, “Just stfu and move on.”
All of that came in response to a post in which McGregor gave his play-by-play of his loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
McGregor wasn’t all that negative when talking about Nurmagomedov in the post. At times, he even complimented Nurmagomedov’s performance.
Abdelaziz determined that was enough to warrant a scathing response.
The bad blood between McGregor and Abdelaziz extends far beyond a couple of Instagram posts.
In the lead-up to the fight, McGregor called Abdelaziz a “snitch terrorist rat”.
McGregor has expressed a desire to have a rematch with Nurmagomedov since the fight.
But if Abdelaziz’s post is to be believed, McGregor isn’t going to get that chance.
with AFP, Yahoo Sports
