By hatchet, I am referring to what someone from either fighter’s entourage was looking for backstage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Why do two of my last three UFC columns both involve McGregor, and someone potentially spending time in prison?
Khabib taps McGregor at 3:03 of the fourth round, and then takes the first steps towards being unemployed--and possibly incarcerated--by the close of the weekend.
UFC 229 featured lightweight fights as both of the main events. Tony Ferguson was in complete control of Anthony Pettis in the co-main event through two rounds, and Pettis did not come back out for the third, citing a broken hand. Top heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis all but signed his name on the dotted line to fight the winner of Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar for the title, after a miracle comeback over Alexander Volkov.
Lewis then stripped down to his underwear in his post-fight interview.
Back in April, we recall where things between McGregor and Nurmagomedov really starting to pick up steam. McGregor’s Irish teammates attacked a bus in the bowels of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, on the eve of UFC 223. McGregor was targeting Nurmagomedov, who was on the bus with two teammates. McGregor eventually pleaded no contest to a count of disorderly behavior, and walked away with five days of community service and $50,000 bail when the dust settled.
Nurmagomedov choked out a despondent McGregor, who elevated the smack talk in the last few months to a level possibly only surpassed by his rivalry with Nate Diaz. Afterwards, Nurmagomedov continued to verbally berate McGregor, and had to be restrained by referee Herb Dean.
Maybe Nurmagomedov wanted to voice his frustration after losing the first round of his outstanding career in the third. Who knows…
Khabib went to the other side of the cage, and began verbally assaulting McGregor’s cornermen. He threw his mouthpiece, then jumped the cage to throw hands with the McGregor team at ringside. While McGregor was assisted back to his feet by the UFC training staff and ringside doctors, a member of Nurmagomedov’s team jumped into the cage to assault McGregor.
McGregor was escorted back to the locker room, surrounded by security. Nurmagomedov and UFC President Dana White began verbally arguing that White would not put the belt on Nurmagomedov inside the cage, as is customary with all UFC title fights. White could be heard saying,
“If I put this belt on you, other people are going to start everybody’s going to start throwing shit into the octagon. Other people might get hurt.”
That sure did not seem to bother the nWo back in the heyday of WCW.
I could say that what Nurmagomedov did was disgusting, which it was. I could say there would be little issue with the UFC stripping Nurmagomedov of the title, based on his post-fight actions, which they very well could. I could say that Nurmagomedov could be in front of a judge after choking out McGregor, much in the same way McGregor was in trying to end Khabib when on the bus.
What I am not going to say is how I am coming to the defense of McGregor, much the same way fans and media have already thought of him as the cooler head in the wake of the post-fight brawl. McGregor certainly did not deserve being jumped after being tapped, but his mouth finally caught up with him.
Khabib’s may be bigger than Conor’s, and Nurmagomedov was more than happy to shut it for him. Nurmagomedov is going to face stiff penalties from both the UFC and the city of Las Vegas, and well deserved. Khabib did not coast through the fight, but certainly made it look like he had extra fuel in his tank after what Conor had put him through the past six months.
-JC24