The UFC will be without stars Conor McGregor & Khabib Nurmagomedov for at least 6 months after the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed down their punishment for the two UFC stars.
Officials voted to give McGregor a six-month ban and $50,000 fine while Nurmagomedov received a nine-month ban and $500,000 fine for their actions in a post-fight brawl after Khabib’s submission victory at UFC 229 last October in Las Vegas.
Nurmagomedov’s ban will be reduced by three months if he agrees to record an anti-bullying message for the Las Vegas Police Department. His fine will be deducted from his purse for UFC 229, according to the terms handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Nurmagomedov’s camp was unhappy at the disparity in fines.“I don’t think it’s fair,” his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said. “Khabib gets $500k and Conor gets $50k? I think it’s bullshit.” Nurmagomedov simply tweeted “politics forever”.
According to MMA journalist Helwani, Nurmagomedov will reportedly pay his own fine, $280,000 for his lawyer and will foot the bill for two of his teammates, who were both hit with $35,000 penalties — meaning he will fork out over $800,000 in total.
Abubakar Nurmagomedov and another Khabib teammate who became involved in the melee, Zubaira Tukhugov, each received 12-month bans to go along with their $35,000 fines.
Nurmagomedov was punished for leaving the Octagon after the fight and hitting or trying to strike multiple people, among them McGregor’s cornerman.
Ireland’s McGregor was punished for climbing the fence and refusing to come down as well as exchanging punches with Abubakar Nurmagomedov, a fighter and cousin of Khabib.
Despite his loss, McGregor tweeted after the fight that he would like to meet Nurmagomedov again. “Good knock,” he wrote. “Looking forward to the rematch.”
