Over the weekend Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0) defended his lightweight championship against Conor McGregor (24-1) at UFC 229 in Las Vegas, in what proved to be a highly heated match before, during, and after the match.
If you know anything about McGregor you know that his pre-fight antics are just as explosive as the fireworks that occurs during the match. Which is why Floyd Mayweather was so appreciative of having someone of McGregor's caliber across the ring from him in his last bout, because for the first time in his career he did not have to carry all of the weight of the press and media engagements leading up to the fight. But, all of that came with a cost as McGregor was received backlash for the racial undertones used in a couple of those engagements; such as referring to Mayweather and his camp as “boy” and “monkeys.”
So, as one would expect some of those same antics carried over into this fight. Dating all the way back to April, before this UFC 229 match was announced, McGregor showed up at the conclusion of a UFC 223 media day event looking to confront Khabib. Sure enough, he found a bus carrying Khabib and his team backstage at the Barclays Center so he decided to through a steel dolly through the window, injury a few passengers on the bus. McGregor was arrested then shortly released after, but no punishment was handed down from UFC.
Now fastforward to last Saturday. After the match, which was decided by submission, all hell broke loose– for the lack of better terms. McGregor got into a scuffle with members of Khabib's team, Khabib left the octogon to pursue members of McGregor's team who had been disrespecting his “family, religiion, and nation.” As a result, an ongoing investigation regarding all that occured that night has commenced leading to the Nevada State Athletic Commission deciding to withold Khabib's $2 million earnings from the match. Today, the UFC announced that they are planning to cut their ties with one of Khabib's team members and cancel his upcoming bout. Khabib took to instagram to threaten to leave the UFC if they decide to cut their ties.
