Khabib, McGregor & Jones All Set For NSAC Hearing Next Tuesday
Next week’s (Tues., January 29, 2019) Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing is bound to be a busy one.
The agenda released by the commission today (Thurs., January 24, 2019) confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, and Jon Jones are all scheduled to appear. Khabib and McGregor, of course, will supposedly appear to receive their punishments for their involvement in the chaotic UFC 229 post-fight brawl last October.
After Khabib submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their main event, pandemonium broke out when ‘The Eagle’ soared into the crowd to assault McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis. For his part, McGregor attacked Khabib’s cornermen Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov after they rushed into the Octagon to confront him.
The NSAC will conduct separate disciplinary complaints against both fighters. In the ‘alternative,’ the commission will hear proposed settlements from both sides. It’s unclear if Khabib and/or McGregor will be in attendance. Khabib has repeatedly said he will not attend the hearing when asked. However, NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell confirmed that both will
Potential Punishments
Both will face potential suspensions, fines, and community service for their involvement in the brawl. The NSAC is still withholding $1 million of Khabib’s $2 million disclosed purse from UFC 229. Marnell said he estimates Nurmagomedov made $5-6 million in total from the fight per MMAjunkie. McGregor’s pay was not withheld, but it would have been had the commission known his full involvement in the brawl that night.
Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov will also appear to have their proposed settlements heard. Interestingly, Danis will not appear even though he received a temporary suspension from the NSAC for his involvement.
Jones On The Docket
Also scheduled to appear is frequent drug test explainer Jon Jones. “Bones” won the UFC light heavyweight title back by defeating Alexander Gustafsson at December 29’s UFC 232. But it wasn’t without controversy yet again. News arrived that Jones had tested positive for trace amounts of the metabolite for anabolic steroid Turinabol in a December 9 out-of-competition USADA test. He also reportedly tested positive for the same thing in tests dating back to August and September.
Because word of the test broke so close to the holidays, much of the NSAC was on vacation. Because of that, they were unable to hear the case. Jones was unable to be licensed. UFC 232 was move from Las Vegas to California as a result. Jones had already been licensed in the state.
Of course, Jones was found to have tested positive again for the exact same metabolite in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) test. It was hardly a surprise. The metabolite is supposedly sticking around from his UFC 214 failure, for which he received a 15-month suspension. The amount is minuscule. But strangely enough, Jones passed his post-fight USADA tests at UFC 232. Jones will not receive any sanctions from the CSAC or USADA for the latest failure.
It will be interesting to see how the NSAC chooses to deal with Jones. They haven’t let on what they are planning to do with him if anything. Regardless,
