Open War Broke Out in the Early Hours of the Morning in Las Vegas Between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagamedov’s Camps… New Footage Reveals That McGregor Landed on Zubaira Tukagov First…
There was absolute carnage last night in Las Vegas. Conor McGregor was beaten convincingly by Khabib Nurmagamedov who consolidated his status as lightweight champion in dramatic style. Nurmagamedov won by third-round submission and was definitely dominant throughout the two men’s battle, with a 10-8 round in the second period.
However, it would be marred by scenes the like we haven’t seen since Strikeforce: Nashville back in 2010. This was arguably worse because of the number of people watching and the reach that it has already found in mainstream media. It’s tarnished the MMA world.
Khabib Nurmagamedov launched himself at McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis and a brawl broke out. New footage shows that McGregor punched one of the Russian’s teammates before he was struck himself. Check it out below.
From this camera angle it looks like Conor threw the first punch before he got jumped #ufc229 #KhabibvsMcGregor pic.twitter.com/VxPBdmNNE5
— Daniel Baez (@danny_baez3) October 7, 2018
First Punch
As you can see from the footage above, McGregor lands the first punch on Zubaira Tukagov before he got jumped by the Russian and his teammate Islam Makhachev. It’s unclear though whether he was just quicker on the draw than Tukagov, who looks like he’s loading up on the Irishman, so it may simply be that he saw them coming and was sharper.
Both Makhachev and Tukagov were arrested following the aftermath of the brawl. Both men were released after McGregor declined to press charges. However, Dana White has confirmed that neither will fight in the UFC again. Tukagov was set to take on McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov next month.
Khabib Time
The brawl started when Khabib Nurmagamedov took exception to something said by Dillon Danis in the crowd. The pumped-up champion climbed up on the cage and launched himself, feet first, at the New Yorker. The brawl was triggered and security rushed forward to break them up before members of both camps got involved. It was all messy and captured on live TV. Khabib told media:
“I want to say sorry to the Athletic Commission, and sorry to Vegas; I know this is not my best side. But I don’t understand how people can say I jumped on the cage. He talked about my religion, my family; he came to Brooklyn and could have killed people on the bus. Why are we talking about me climbing on the cage?”
The answer to that question is simple: he’s a professional fighter and a champion. He should know better.
Conor hit khabib team first, in the ring 🙄
#UFC229 pic.twitter.com/GewanNxWxh— Dont tell kay (@dont_tell_kay) October 7, 2018
Serious Consequences
This could have drastic consequences for the champion as well. At the moment his $2 million fight purse is being withheld by the Nevada State Commission, pending an investigation. He did throw the first blow and could find himself in a world of trouble. McGregor has been paid.
Afterward, UFC President Dana White condemned what had happened and warned that severe consequences will be coming to those that instigated a brawl that brought the sport of MMA into shame in front of the world.
