The ending of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov's dual overshadowed the actual fight, and here's what happened. Russian fighter Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov has taken the Ultimate Fighting Championship by storm, mounting an undefeated record. After 25 straight victories, he got his shot at the UFC Lightweight Champion belt, and easily defeated Al Iaquinta back in April. His first defense was later set to be against Conor McGregor, the last man to hold the Lightweight belt, but lost it due to inactivity.
The match was the main card at UFC 229 last night, but the rivalry between McGregor and Khabib had been mounting for months. Khabib was caught on video slapping McGregor's friend Artem Lobov, which led McGregor and his team to attack a bus full of fighters at UFC 223. Khabib and his team were among the passengers on the bus. This all led to the fight itself having added stakes beyond the belt and emotions boiled over when it was all said and done.
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McGregor and Khabib's fight lasted four rounds. Khabib came out swinging but then McGregor wound up making up some ground in the fight by landing a few jabs and body kicks of his own. Khabib responded by driving McGregor into the wall and dropping him to the ground. After jostling for position, Khabib got a reverse choke hold on leaving McGregor with no other option than to admit defeat and tap out, giving the victory to Khabib.
Immediately after the judge separated the two fights, Khabib kept jawing at a defeated McGregor, before turning his attention to someone else. Khabib pointed at and then threw his mouth guard at McGregor's jiu-jitsu coach Dillon Danis. That wasn't enough for the reigning Lightweight Champion, as he then proceeded to scale the octagon's fence and attack Danis in the crowd. A massive brawl burst out in the audience as a result, and inspired members of Khabib's team to jump back in the ring to sneak attack McGregor. A few punches were landed on the back of his head. Security eventually separated Khabib and brought him back inside the cage, where they then had to keep McGregor and Khabib separated.
After all of this commotion and an energized and angry crowd, Dana White, the President of the UFC, decided to not award the belt to Khabib in the ring. He said in a press conference afterward that he believed more violence could occur if Khabib was awarded the belt in that environment. White confirmed that three members of Khabib's team had been arrested, while the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to pay Khabib his winnings as a full investigation has been launched to determine what will be done. Khabib is still technically the reigning Lightweight Champion, but the UFC may decide to strip him of that title and his belt depending on how the various investigations go. Clearly, this wild story is far from over, so expect the Ultimate Fighting Championship to share additional details as they become available.