Report: Khabib Refuses To Attend UFC 229 Disciplinary Hearing
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will face punishment for their UFC 229 post-fight brawl at a Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing on December 10. However, it’s reportedly one Khabib refuses to attend.
The undefeated UFC lightweight champion submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their awaited main event at October 6’s UFC 229. Khabib then lept into the crowd to assault McGregor’s teammate Dillion Danis. The outspoken Bellator fighter had allegedly blurted out a religious slur directed at the Muslim “Eagle.” Three of Khabib’s teammates also scaled the Octagon to fight with the Irish megastar as well.
The NSAC temporarily suspended Khabib and McGregor at their October 24 meeting. They extended their hearing to December 10 meeting. However, Khabib recently revealed to beIN Sports (via The Mirror) that he would not be attending the hearing:
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission convened because of what happened after the McGregor match. On December 10 they will meet again and call me but I’m not going, I’m not guilty.”
A Divide
The brawl was seemingly more of a releasing of months of tension between the two sides following McGregor’s now-infamous Brooklyn bus attack than anything else. The former titleholder spent the weeks leading up to the fight disparaging Khabib’s homeland, manager, and even his family. The Dagestani showed little remorse after the fight, posing the question of why the brawl was such a big deal.
But the UFC and the commission took it seriously.
UFC President Dana White stated his teammates who assaulted McGregor would be released from the UFC. The main culprit appeared to be featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov. He bragged about slapping McGregor on social media. He was pulled from his scheduled UFC Moncton fight with McGregor’s best friend Artem Lobov. Khabib said he would leave the UFC if Tukhugov was cut.
That situation has since been remedied. But Khabib still seems to hold a grudge for McGregor’s behavior. He offered his view that the NSAC should punish the Irishman for being the instigator of the entire rivalry:
“I started the fight and I finished as a man.They’ll punish the initiator, I won the fight in the rules. After the fight I showed him that what he did before the fight would not be unrequited.”
Punished Regardless
Khabib may think the NSAC should only punish McGregor, whom he calls the initiator. However, the commission will definitely see it in a much different light. They released half of his $2 million purse they withheld from him following the brawl at the previous hearing. The other half is still being withheld.
While Nurmagomedov may not even care about that money, his ability to fight in Las Vegas would be a huge blow to his career. The commission claimed if either man failed to appear on December 10, they would be banned from fighting in Las Vegas again. ‘Sin City’ is obviously where almost all of the biggest fights take place.
So with Khabib’s manager looking for him to get a massive $50-million payday for his next fight, it would behoove him to attend the hearing. Will he be a no-show like he claims?
