After all the build-up to UFC 229, which saw Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov face off at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, you would expect us all to be talking about the outcome of the fight. However, much of the conversation has instead become about what happened immediately following Khabib's fourth round victory.
Right after McGregor lost to a choke hold, his opponent climbed out of the octagon and lunged at a member of the Irish fighter's team. Meanwhile, things weren't exactly docile in the octagon either. McGregor, still recovering from the fight, appeared to be attacked by three men on Khabib's team, with the chaotic fight having to be broken up. It wasn't a good look for Nurmagomedov and ended the night on a sour note.
Speaking to FOX Sports, UFC President Dana White confirmed that three men were arrested after the incident:
"Three of his guys have been arrested, I believe they're being taken to jail right now.
"A lot of stuff that shouldn't happen, Khabib jumped over the cage and went after one of Conor's guys who I guess was trash talking him. I don't know what to say right now, I'm disgusted.”
One of these men was UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov, who has his own reasons for disliking McGregor. The Irishman accused Tukhugov of treason in an Instagram post, after he heard the announcement that he would be taking on McGregor's sparring partner Artem Lobov. He wrote:
"A true Chechen would never assist in a Dagestani led attack on another Chechen. A true Chechen would never take orders from a Dagestani man. This is treason. There is no worse than treason."
In a recent interview with SBN, Tukhugov said:
"Yes. [McGregor] put my picture on Instagram, with a little bit of s*** about me. This is never. After my fight with Lobov, I see McGregor? I ask him, 'Tell me now. I am here.'
"If you are a man – if you're a Chechen man, American man, Ireland man – you tell him face. No put Instagram. No message. I want to fight outside. No cage, outside, after Lobov. I tell him. And after my fight, I show him."
Now, after the incident in Las Vegas, he hasn't shown any remorse for entering the octagon and attacking McGregor. Tukhugov took to social media to speak about it, with the video being circulated on Twitter by MMA journalist Karim Zidan.
"I slapped him as promised. I promised to make him answer for his words and I did," Tukhugov said in the video, and also denied that McGregor was able to land a punch on him during the scuffle.
"Everyone who thinks I missed, show me where. There is nothing. Just cop pushed me back on the video, as if I missed. Not even close. Everyone who thinks I missed, I swear, nothing was too close."
Zidan explained in a follow-up tweet that "Anyone who has studied/reported on the North Caucasus knows how they handle insults towards family members (especially elders) & attacks on religion" - referring to comments McGregor and his team have allegedly made in the past.
However, if Tukhugov thinks he's ever getting a shot at McGregor in a UFC match, he might be disappointed. White has stated that the men who entered the octagon after the fight to charge McGregor would never fight in the UFC again. "I've been working hard to promote this sport, this is not what a mixed martial arts event is normally like," he said.
Despite what went down that night, McGregor has decided not to press any charges.
