Khabib Nurmagomedov's Money for UFC 229 Withheld by NAC Pending Investigation
October 7, 2018
The Nevada Athletic Commission is withholding the guaranteed money due to Khabib Nurmagomedov for his participation in UFC 229 pending a full investigation into the post-fight melee that overshadowed his fourth-round submission of Conor McGregor on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
According to MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi, Nurmagomedov is due $2 million according to the purse agreement, plus an undisclosed cut of the pay-per-view revenue.
The incident that sparked the NAC's actions occurred in the immediate aftermath of the main event in Las Vegas.
Moments after he got McGregor to tap out, Nurmagomedov hoisted himself out of the Octagon and targeted members of McGregor's team. Members of Nurmagomedov's camp also interjected when they jumped into the Octagon and ambushed McGregor.
"The NSAC is going to hand down some kind of fine, suspension or whatever's gonna happen, that's up to them—we'll see," UFC President Dana White said after the brawl, according to MMA Fighting.
"If [Nurmagomedov] gets suspended, it depends how long his suspension is, then yeah he's probably going to get stripped if it's a long suspension."
Nurmagomedov's displeasure with McGregor's camp had been percolating for months. Not only was he on the bus McGregor attacked in Brooklyn ahead of UFC 223 in April, but he was the target of disparaging remarks from The Notorious.
"First of all I want to say sorry to Nevada Athletic Commission," Nurmagomedov said Saturday night, per USA Today's Martin Rogers. "This is not my best side.
"But [McGregor] talked about my religion, he talks about my father. Why people talk about [how] I [jumped] on the cage? He came to Brooklyn and almost killed a couple of people."