Khabib Nurmagomedov has threatened to quit UFC in a stunning outburst aimed directly at the sport’s governing body.
Nurmagomedov retained his UFC lightweight belt on Saturday by forcing a fourth-round submission by challenger Conor McGregor.
But the undefeated Russian marred his convincing victory by jumping out of the cage immediately afterwards to confront McGregor’s support team and spark a mass brawl.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has withheld Nurmagomedov’s two million dollar fight purse during its investigation.
UFC president Dana White has hinted at banning Nurmagomedov’s team-mate, fellow Russian and UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov, for his part in the incident.
“Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought,” Nurmagomedov said in a statement posted on his Instagram account.
“If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started.
We lost the match but won the battle. The war goes on. pic.twitter.com/CRtPaGfOnn — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 8, 2018
“In any case, punish me, @zubairatukhugov has nothing to do with that.
If you think that I’ll keep silent then you are mistaken. You cancelled Zubaira’s fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor.
“But don’t forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video.
“If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother.
“If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I’ll break it myself.
UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor destroys previous MMA record for pay-per-views https://t.co/tW7k0fdLPs — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 11, 2018
“And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end.”
McGregor, meanwhile, has been suspended for one month on medical grounds after tapping out to Nurmagomedov due to a rear-naked choke.
Nurmagomedov said his actions immediately after his win were a result of McGregor’s provocation in the build-up to the fight, which included smashing the window of the Russian’s team bus, which injured several people.
Pros react to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s post-UFC 229 brawl ultimatum to UFC https://t.co/6K9rJFoo5E pic.twitter.com/WVsKk88Zxw — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 11, 2018
In his Instagram statement, Nurmagomedov added: “Why didn’t you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people?
“They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?”
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