Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘will probably get stripped’ if he receives lengthy suspension for post-fight brawl

Khabib Nurmagomedov was entering Saturday’s fight against Conor McGregor as the undisputed lightweight champion. It was going to be Nurmagomedov’s biggest challenge yet.

Even with it being a tough fight, Nurmagomedov made it look easy. He took McGregor down at will and avoided McGregor’s left hand. Ultimately, Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor by fourth-round submission.

Following the fight, Nurmagomedov tried to fight Dillon Danis, who was in McGregor’s corner, jumping out of the Octagon and attacking him. At the same time, some of Nurmagomedov’s team went into the Octagon and attacked McGregor. It was a messy scene that the Nevada State Athletic Commission was not happy about. They are withholding Nurmagomedov’s pay as a result. He is also likely facing a suspension.

“We’ll see, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will hand down some type of fine, suspension, whatever, that is up to them. I don’t know,” UFC President Dana White said of Khabib Nurmagomedov at the UFC 229 post-fight press conference. “If he gets suspended, depends on how long his suspension is, then yeah he will probably get stripped if it is a long suspension.

“No, it is not 100% [that Nurmagomedov will still be the champion],” he said. “The thing is we’re regulated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission or whatever state we are in, right. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to go after him, I’m sure pretty hard.

“He doesn’t have to worry about me right now, he has to worry about Nevada. He’s in trouble.”

When pressed as to what might happen to the title if Khabib Nurmagomedov is stripped, White was noncommittal, though he admitted Tony Ferguson remains a player in the title conversation.

“I am completely not thinking about any of that,” he said. “I’m not even thinking about that stuff. Obviously, [Ferguson] put on an incredible performance, he got hurt he came back, won the fight. Ferguson, so happy that he actually stepped up and fought on this card, too. You stay active, stay in front of the fans, especially as many people that were watching tonight and everybody loved that fight. It was a really good night for Tony.”

Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov should get stripped of the title after his UFC 229 brawl?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/7/2018.