LAS VEGAS — Everything was going perfectly. Almost too perfectly. All the fighters had made weight and showed up to fight. A sell-out crowd was in attendance and the pay-per-view was tracking to be one of the richest in UFC history. Then what should have been a celebration turned into mayhem when Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped out of the Octagon and into the stands, causing a near riot at T-Mobile Arena.
“I couldn’t be more disappointed,” UFC President Dana White said late Saturday night in the aftermath of one of the ugliest incidents in the 18-history of the company. “It’s definitely not a good thing. It’s not who we are. It’s unfortunate that on a night when the most people are watching it turns into a s–tshow.”
Truth is, the UFC has only itself to blame. There’s always a hefty amount of trash-talking in combat sports and always will be. But the venom spewed by Conor McGregor in the build-up to Saturday night’s battle for the UFC lightweight championship took it to an uglier level that ultimately put innocent people in danger.
It’s one thing for McGregor to predict he would shatter Nurmagomedov’s orbital bone, which he didn’t. It’s another to call him a terrorist, mock his Muslim religion and disparage Nurmagomedov’s father. Add the incident last April in Brooklyn, where McGregor attacked a bus on which Nurmagomedov and his team were riding, and the hate between the two camps created a powder keg that ultimately exploded.
White said he didn’t regret not suspending McGregor for his actions in Brooklyn or allowing the pre-fight rhetoric to get so personal. Video of McGregor’s dolly-throwing fit in Brooklyn was used extensively in the promotion of the bout.
“We’re never going to tell anybody what they can or can’t say,” White said, adding, “It’s the fight game. It’s how it works. People have been saying mean things to each other at the UFC for 18 years. Nothing like this has ever happened.”
It did Saturday night, when Nurmagomedov launched himself over the cage and jumped into MMA fighter and McGregor sidekick Dillon Danis, who was sitting just outside the Octagon and taunting the Russian after his victory.
“It just happened so fast,” White said, adding, “This is some street stuff that’s going on here.”
The Nevada Athletic Commission announced it was withholding Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse pending an investigation into the bedlam. Eventually, Nurmagomedov will have to appear before the commission and plead his case before a final punishment is imposed.
It looks like the Russian will retain the UFC lightweight belt he defended by submitting McGregor at 3:03 of the fourth round on a rear naked choke. But Nurmagomedov could face a hefty fine and a lengthy suspension that could cause him to be stripped of his title for inactivity.
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to go after him pretty hard,” White predicted. “The governor [of Nevada, Brian Sandoval] was here tonight. The governor went running out of the building. That’s not good.”
Nurmagomedov first apologized for his actions: “I want to say sorry to Athletic Commission, sorry to Vegas, this is not my best side.” Then he blamed McGregor for crossing the line. “I don’t understand how people can talk about I jump on the cage,” he said. “What about he talk about my religion? He talk about my country; he talk about my father; he comes to Brooklyn and broke the bus and almost killed a couple of people. What about this?”
“This is a respect sport,” Nurmagomedov continued at the post-fight press conference. “This is not a trash-talking sport. I want to change this game. I don’t want people talking s–t about fathers and religion.”
Nurmagomedov wasn’t helping clean up the sport when he climbed over the fence and launched himself into Danis. Security and law enforcement officers quickly descended, but fights erupted in the Octagon when McGregor took a swing at one of Nurmagomedov’s trainers and someone came out of the stands and jumped into the Octagon to attack McGregor from behind.
“It’s just really disgusting and disappointing to me,” White said. “We know this isn’t who we are.”
White said McGregor received his $3 million purse and refused to press charges on three members of Nurmagomedov’s team who were initially arrested and subsequently released.
