Dana White: Post-fight brawl outside octagon at UFC 229 'isn't sport'
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LAS VEGAS – What was supposed to be a triumphant night for the UFC instead turned into one of the darkest moments in the promotion’s history.
Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov retained his lightweight title by submitting Conor McGregor with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of their headlining fight at UFC 229, all hell broke loose.
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Dana White: Post-fight brawl outside octagon at UFC 229 'isn't sport' Back to video
Seconds after the fight had been called, Nurmagomedov stormed out of the cage and attacked members of McGregor’s team.
A massive brawl ensued, as members of both fighters’ entourages went at it in and outside of the octagon and the crowd at the T-Mobile Arena began showering the ring with trash.
McGregor was sucker-punched by one of Nurmagomedov’s teammates and was hit by at least one other.
Dillon Danis, a teammate of McGregor’s, was also heavily involved and was caught throwing several punches, while Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, had to be restrained.
“This is some street s—, this isn’t sport,” UFC president Dana White said.
Afterwards, White said three of Nurmagomedov’s teammates had been arrested, although they were released after McGregor refused to press charges, while the Nevada Athletic Commission decided to withhold the Russian’s purse.
“There’s going to be fines. There’s going to be God knows what. Can these guys get visas to get back in the country?” White said. “The biggest night ever, and I couldn’t be more disappointed.”
It was the escalation of a feud that turned ugly this spring when McGregor threw a metal dolly at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov. McGregor then spent the night in prison.
There will surely be repercussions, particularly for the champion.
It was a nightmare ending to the evening for the UFC.
All week, White had said that he expected Saturday’s pay-per-view to be the most-watched event in UFC history.
If that’s true, it means there were millions of eyeballs focused squarely on an incident that makes the sport look terrible.
There have been post-fight brawls in MMA before, but nothing like what happened on Saturday night.
These were two of the biggest names in MMA and the scenes that unfolded in Las Vegas will be beamed all around the world, casting an ugly shadow over a sport that has fought for so long to gain an aura of credibility.
“I’ve been working 18 years to build this sport,” White said. “This is not what a UFC event is normally like.”
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