Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov to be suspended for post-fight brawl
- Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov will both be suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for their post-fight brawl.
- The commission plans to hold a hearing on October 24 to vote on whether either or both fighters' suspensions should be extended.
- Since the fight, Nurmagomedov has apologized for his actions, but not backed down to threats from the UFC.
The Nevada Athletic Commission is in no rush to see Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting again after their lightweight championship bout that ended with Nurmagomedov retaining his title and a brawl that spilled into the crowd.
NAC executive director Bob Bennett told ESPN on Thursday that both McGregor and Nurmagomedov would be hit with a suspension starting Monday. The commission will then hold a hearing on October 24 to vote on whether either or both fighters' suspensions should be extended as the commission continues its investigation.
Depending on the commission's findings, further sanctions could be given to both McGregor and Nurmagomedov.
The decision stems from the post-fight chaos that broke out after Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage to attack another member of McGregor's camp.
After the fight, Nurmagomedov did not take questions but did make a statement, expressing regret for his actions but also confusion at the seemingly disparate reactions to his jumping the cage and McGregor's bus attack earlier in the year.
"First of all, I want to say sorry to the athletic commission, Nevada and sorry to Vegas," Nurmagomedov said. "This is not my best side. I'm a human being, but I don't understand how people can talk about jumping on the cage when he talks about my religion, he talks about my country, he talks about my father, and he comes to Brooklyn, and he broke the bus and almost killed a couple of people."
Nurmagomedov has already had his fight check of $2 million withheld, and UFC president Dana White went as far as saying Nurmagomedov might be stripped of the lightweight belt for his involvement in the brawl.
White has also threatened to ban Nurmagomedov's teammate Zubaira Tukhugov from fighting with the company again for his actions in the post-fight chaos.
For his part, Nurmagomedov has not backed down, threatening to leave the UFC should White follow through with banning Tukhugov from fighting again.