Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov punished for their wild UFC brawl

Conor McGregor has spoken out after being handed a lengthy ban and fine for his actions in the ugly post-fight Las Vegas brawl.

Conor McGregor has broken his silence after being handed a six-month ban and $AUD70,000 fine by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

The actions were handed down following the ugly scenes that commenced following their main event fight at UFC 229.

McGregor remains one of the biggest drawcards in the entire UFC and will remain eligible to return to the Octagon in April.

But after the bans were handed down, Mcgregor took a different approach to his usual running of the mouth style.

“I am thankful for the Nevada athletic commissions fair assessment and handling of the brawl incident,” McGregor tweeted.

“It was not my intention to land the final blow of the night on my opponent’s blood relative. It’s just how it played out.

“I look forward to competing again soon.

“Thank you all.”

I am thankful for the Nevada athletic commissions fair assessment and handling of the brawl incident.
It was not my intention to land the final blow of the night on my opponent’s blood relative. It’s just how it played out.
I look forward to competing again soon.
Thank you all.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 30, 2019

The brash talking Irishman then followed up his apology with a detailed breakdown of the final punch he “landed flush” on the ring intruder.

“Straight left hand inside the attackers jab,” he tweeted.

“He attempted to use the big security guard that’s in all the movies as cover, but I could smell him a mile away and landed flush down the pipe.

“The final blow of the night UFC 229 in association with McGregor Sports and Entertainment.”

Straight left hand inside the attackers jab.
He attempted to use the big security guard that’s in all the movies as cover, but I could smell him a mile away and landed flush down the pipe.
The final blow of the night UFC 229 in association with McGregor Sports and Entertainment. pic.twitter.com/h4GO46oX3a

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 30, 2019

McGregor and Nurmagomedov were each issued fines and suspensions on Wednesday (AEDT) by the NSAC but both could be eligible again for UFC 236 in April.

Officials voted to give McGregor a six-month ban and $AUD70,000 fine while Nurmagomedov received a nine-month ban and $700,000 fine for their actions in a post-fight brawl after Khabib’s submission victory at UFC 229 last October in Las Vegas.

Nurmagomedov, a 30-year-old Russian, can have three months of his suspension reduced if he cooperates in the filming and distributing of an anti-bullying public service announcement.

In each case, the ban was retroactive to October 6, 2018, the date of their much-anticipated Vegas showdown.

That would enable McGregor, and Khabib if he films the PSA, to be eligible for UFC 236 on April 13, a week after their bans conclude.

All hell broke loose at the end of the fight.

Khabib’s fine was paid from the portion of his $2 million prize money being held by the commission.

“Politics forever,” Khabib tweeted shortly after the punishments were imposed. Neither McGregor nor Khabib attended the hearing.

Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani he believed the length of the suspensions was fine, but the discrepancy in how much each fighter had been fined was not.

“I don’t think it’s fair. Khabib gets $500k and Conor gets $50k? I think it’s bulls***,” Abdelaziz said.

According to Helwani, Nurmagomedov no longer wants to fight in Nevada and is targeting a return to the Octagon in New York later this year. If that’s the case, he would give up the chance to fight in Las Vegas.

Just reported on @SportsCenter: Khabib Nurmagomedov is “done” fighting in NV due to the one-year suspension they handed his teammates today, his mgr Ali Abdelaziz said. He will also not fight until their suspensions are over and is now targeting a return to action at MSG in Nov.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 29, 2019

Nurmagomedov will reportedly pay his own fine, $280,000 for his lawyer and will foot the bill for two of his teammates, who were both hit with $35,000 penalties — meaning he will fork out over $AUD1 million in total.

Like Abdelaziz, UFC podcaster Luke Thomas also hit out at the fine.

Utterly outrageous fine. https://t.co/VfydPdU4mk

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 29, 2019

Me neither. I'm also not for exorbitant fines that are overly punitive for a fighter's first offense when, coincidentally, it's their only major payday ever. This is totally disproportionate.

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 29, 2019

If you're in favor of government overreach with nebulous standards for punishment and onerous financial penalties in part created for self dealing that have little to do with the nature of the infractions, yeah, it's great.

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 29, 2019

McGregor’s coach Kohn Kavanagh was clearly miffed by the decision to penalise his pupil.

Fined for being attacked? pic.twitter.com/ZQYm4dArk4

— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) January 29, 2019

The NSAC was critical of the pre-fight trash-talk between McGregor and Nurmagomedov but Thomas and others said it would be out of line for the commission to try and regulate such behaviour that happens outside the Octagon.

The trash talk in the build should be because it played a role, but there's no way they'd be able to regulate pre-fight trash talk and is ridiculously dumb for them to consider it.

— David Bixenspan (@davidbix) January 29, 2019

Using language in circumstances where they have jurisdiction over circumstances where they don't have jurisdiction is a horrific overreach and scary mission creep.

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 29, 2019

Abubakar Nurmagomedov and another Khabib teammate who became involved in the melee, Zubaira Tukhugov, each received 12-month bans to go along with their $35,000 fines.

Nurmagomedov was punished for leaving the Octagon after the fight and hitting or trying to strike multiple people, among them McGregor’s cornerman.

Ireland’s McGregor was punished for climbing the fence and refusing to come down as well as exchanging punches with Abubakar Nurmagomedov, a fighter and cousin of Khabib.

— with AFP