At UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov did what he promised he would do and “smashed” Conor McGregor, submitting the former two-division world champion in the fourth round of their title fight. Then he jumped the fence and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis which started a brawl with McGregor’s team that has quickly become the most infamous event in MMA history. At the post-fight press conference, Nurmagomedov apologized for the incident but said that McGregor and his team’s trash-talk stepped over the line. He also noted that, “I know my father’s gonna smash me when I go home” and it sure sounds like he was right about that.
Speaking with Tass.ru (h/t Bloody Elbow) Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, revealed that he intends to discipline his son most severely for his exploits after submitting McGregor.
“I will impose a punishment tougher than the UFC’s,” Abdulmanap said. “I warned him. For me, discipline comes first. You do whatever you want in the Octagon, [but] outside — this is the border of civilians, where there are children, women, strangers.”
That’s no small threat. For his part in sparking the melee, Nurmagomedov faces a number of punishments, both form the UFC and from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The NAC is already withholding Nurmagomedov’s $2M fight purse, pending an investigation, and UFC President Dana White said that, depending on the length of suspension Nurmagomedov receives from the NAC, the UFC may have to strip him of the lightweight belt.
Still, all of that likely pales on comparison to the punishments to be levied from Abdulmanap because, aside from being his father, Abdulmanap is Khabib’s coach, mentor, and one of the most celebrated coaches in Dagestan. He is seen as largely responsible for the success of his son as well as many of the Dagestani fighters that have thrived in the UFC over the last decade. He is also the guy who had Khabib wrestle a bear when he was a child.
No word yet on whether Khabib will have to wrestle a Kodiak in penance.
