New footage reveals why Khabib's team attacked McGregor
Conor McGregor appeared to be the innocent victim of an unprovoked attack from Khabib’s teammates in the shocking scenes after their fight at UFC 229.
But new footage has revealed how that wasn’t exactly the case.
After Khabib jumped out of the cage to attack McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis, the Irishman was set upon by three members of Khabib’s crew.
The men jumped into the Octagon and swung at McGregor, and were subsequently arrested following the crazy melee.
But as you can see in the video above, McGregor appeared to provoke the attack by throwing the first punch.
As McGregor jumped onto the top of the cage in an attempt to pursue Khabib, he threw a punch at a member of the Russian’s team.
The two other men saw the punch and decided to join the melee.
Many fans believe the new footage explains why McGregor didn’t want to press charges against the men, allowing them to walk free not long after they were detained.
Dana White furious over shocking scenes
“I saw one of Conor’s guys yelling at Khabib, Khabib ran and jumped over the octagon, went after him. Two of Khabib’s guys got into the octagon, one guy hit Conor with some shots form behind, and that’s it,” UFC boss Dana White said.
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission pulled the footage from us, there’s an investigation going on. They are withholding Khabib’s purse, they are not withholding Conor’s.
“The way that works is Conor is one of the guys who was attacked. Conor refused to press charges. There were three guys from Khabib’s team arrested, and they were released because Conor didn’t want to press charges.”
Khabib’s bizarre explanation for meltdown
After a lengthy delay, Nurmagomedov eventually addressed a media conference.
“First of all I want to say sorry to athletic commission Nevada, to Vegas, I know this is not my best side. This is not my best side,” he said.
He went on to complain bitterly about McGregor’s behaviour in the lead-up to the fight that exacerbated the bad blood between the two teams.
“He talk about my religion, he talk about my country, he talk about my father, he come to Brooklyn and he broke bus, he almost killed a couple people – what about this?” he asked reporters.
What actually happened inside the Octagon
The 30-year-old from Dagestan had mauled former two-weight champion McGregor before the Irishman tapped out to a rear naked choke hold in the fourth round, but that was quickly forgotten in the following melee.
Angry fans of the two fighters brawled in the concourses of the arena as police and security staff struggled to maintain any semblance of order, and violent scuffles continued into the night around the Las Vegas strip.
White said that it would be now up to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to decide if Nurmagomedov would face further sanctions.
with AAP
