Billed as the biggest UFC fight in history, UFC 229 saw Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0) remain perfect after tapping out Conor McGregor (21-4) in the fourth round via a near jaw breaking rear-naked choke just above McGregor’s chin. Unfortunately, that was only half of the story.
In a shocking moment, the champ charged and jumped up and over the cage, launching himself into the crowd and starting a melee that had arena security and Las Vegas police scrambling to break the riot up, eventually escorting him out of the area. While that was transpiring, two people from Nurmagomedov’s camp jumped into the cage and attacked McGregor, who was sitting on the canvas while trying to recover from the choke out.
Despite Nurmagomedov largely dominating the bout, UFC President Dana White told First Take on Monday that the Irishman is keen to go again.
“[Nurmagomedov] has to go before the Nevada commission, and we have to see what’s going to happen with Khabib and this whole mess,” he said. “But McGregor has already called me, wanting a rematch. That’s what Conor has asked for. We’ll see what happens with Khabib and what’s next.”
White said a lot would depend on Tony Ferguson, who he said looked “amazing” in his win over Anthony Pettis on the same night. “Those two [Ferguson and Nurmagomedov] have been lined up three different times to fight and it hasn’t happened,” he added.
Khabib could be facing a ton of legal issues after jumping into the crowd. White is aware that the Nevada State Commission will come down with a heavy sanction and fine. A rematch is definitely going to happen, but it might not take place in Las Vegas or on US soil altogether.
