Khabib Threatens to Leave UFC If Teammate Is Fired for Conor McGregor Brawl
October 11, 2018
Khabib Nurmagomedov has said he will consider departing the UFC if the organisation decides to release stablemate Zubaira Tukhugov.
Tukhugov was involved in the shocking scenes after Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in their lightweight title bout at UFC 229 last Saturday, with the champion jumping out of the Octagon to fight a member of Notorious' team.
The Russian was blunt as he wrote on an Instagram post.
Nurmagomedov wrote:
"I would like to address UFC. Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"
"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started."
"If you think that I'll keep silent then you are mistaken. You canceled Zubaira's fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor. But don't forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video.
"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you'll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother. If you still decide to fire him, don't forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself."
The 30-year-old, who is one of the most dominant pound-for-pound athletes in MMA, added he does not want his cheque for beating McGregor and will forfeit the money after it was held back by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The end of the encounter between the Eagle and the Notorious will go down as one of the most memorable of all time, but for all the wrong reasons.
Nurmagomedov was supreme as he forced the Irishman to tap in the fourth round, moments before both camps squared up to one another.
Tukhugov confronted McGregor in the Octagon as Khabib exited the cage, with unprecedented scenes unfolding in front of a shocked T-Mobile Arena audience in Las Vegas.
The loss of Nurmagomedov's services would be a bitter blow for the UFC, and the ramifications of the title fight could be felt for years to come.