MMAfighting.com
On Tuesday, the NAC finally handed out its punishments over the brawl at UFC 229, and while it could have been worse for the Khabib Nurmagomedov, he still didn’t get off easy. The UFC lightweight champion was fined $500,000 for his role in inciting the riot, and also received a nine-month suspension, retroactive to the date of the incident. That suspension can also be reduced by three months pending Nurmagomedov’s participation in an anti-bullying public service announcement that must be approved by the NAC, which means Nurmagomedov could be eligible to return to competition as early as April.
Except, he says he won’t.
While Nurmagomedov only got nine months, his teammates, Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov, were given one-year suspensions and Tuesday, Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said that the lightweight champion is now through with fighting in Nevada and won’t return to competition until November when the suspensions for his teammates are over.
“He’s done with Vegas for giving his brothers such harsh punishment,” Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He loves MSG [Madison Square Garden]. Lots of his fans live around there, and New York has always been good to him. He misses fighting in New York.”
Since the legalization of MMA in New York, the UFC has held a card in Madison Square Garden in November of every year. Nurmagomedov was even part of the UFC’s debut at MSG, submitting Michael Johnson and sowing the seeds for a fight with Conor McGregor. If Nurmagomedov is serious about sitting out in solidarity with his teammates, a return at Madison Square Garden would make sense for him.
Unfortunately, what makes sense for him may not fit with the UFC’s plans for the lightweight division. Should Khabib stay in self-imposed exile until November, that means the UFC lightweight division, already backlogged with contenders, would be sitting on hold for a year and at least one of those contenders is already unhappy about the possibility.
It’s gotta be Tony or Conor or we redo my contract. Otherwise I’m not fighting. This company is #1 bullshit6,30612:10 PM – Jan 30, 2019 · Coconut Creek, FLTwitter Ads info and privacy1,204 people are talking about this
At this point if you dont respect the body of work I put in. I don’t respect you.1,51512:12 PM – Jan 30, 2019 · Coconut Creek, FLTwitter Ads info and privacy205 people are talking about this
With McGregor seemingly on a collision course with Donald Cerrone – after which he could jump the line for a title shot considering a rematch between him and Nurmagomedov is the biggest fight the UFC can make at this point – Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson are once again left in limbo. But, for the time being, Nurmagomedov seems unconcerned and summed up the entire situation cleanly.
khabib nurmagomedov✔@TeamKhabib
politics forever17.8K12:45 AM – Jan 30, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy4,964 people are talking about this
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