He revealed Nurmagomedov's fight purse was being held back by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and that three potential members of the fighter's camp had been arrested
Russia's Khabib Nurmagomedov (top) and Ireland's Conor McGregor during the UFC 229 in Las Vegas on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Conor McGregor says he is ready to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov again despite violent scenes in Las Vegas after the Russian had defeated the Irishman on Saturday. McGregor's mixed martial arts return after a near two-year hiatus fell flat as he tapped out midway through the fourth round at UFC 229, and Nurmagomedov soured a career-best performance with his actions immediately afterwards.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Russian, whose victory meant he retained his lightweight title, threw his gumshield, vaulted the cage and attacked someone from McGregor's camp. While that was happening, McGregor was set upon and attacked by at least two men who entered the cage as the bad blood between the camps came to a head. But the Irishman seemed unfazed by all that as he tweeted: "Good knock. Looking forward to the rematch."
Nurmagomedov expressed his regret at what had unfolded but showed his disdain for McGregor's behaviour leading up to the fight, including the notorious bus attack in April that left several rival fighters injured. He said: "First of all I want to say sorry to Nevada Athletic Commission and second to Vegas. I know this is not my best side. I'm a human being.
"But I don't understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage. He talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father. "He came to Brooklyn and he broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people. What about this s***? Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don't understand.
"This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport. I want to change the game, you cannot talk about religion, about nationality." An event which was billed as the biggest in the UFC's history had an unsavoury end, and company president Dana White appeared shell-shocked by what had happened.
He revealed Nurmagomedov's fight purse was being held back by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and that three potential members of the fighter's camp had been arrested. However, White said that because McGregor did not want to take the matter further, the trio were later released.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever