Be ‘lenient’ on him
McGregor’s coach doesn’t want Nurmagomedov punished too harshly. He has a different view on the fighter’s entourage, though
Conor McGregor’s coach doesn’t want Khabib Nurmagomedov punished too harshly.
In the two days since Nurmagomedov jumped out of the UFC 229 cage and sparked a brawl by attacking a teammate of McGregor, there have been plenty of suggestions that the Dagestani lightweight champion should face big sanctions for his actions.
But speaking on the Joe
Rogan Experience podcast, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh said he felt differently.
“I hope (the Nevada State Athletic Commission) is lenient on (Nurmagomedov),” Kavanagh said on the popular podcast. “Not just so we can get a rematch. I just love watching him fight.”
The commission in Nevada is currently investigating what went down on Saturday night and continues to withhold Nurmagomedov’s purse.
They have a number of possible punishments available to them, including massive fines and revoking Nurmagomedov’s fighting license for a period.
So far, it hasn’t seemed like McGregor’s team is pushing for any of that.
On Monday, the Irishman posted a photo on Instagram of himself drinking a whiskey and sporting a black eye.
“We lost the match but won the battle,” McGregor wrote. “The war goes on.”
That has generally seemed to be the vibe coming out of McGregor’s camp, and the former 155-pound champion even called for a rematch on Twitter a few hours after he was submitted by Nurmagomedov in Saturday’s main event.
“That’s what Conor has asked for, we’ll see what happens with Khabib and what’s next,” White told ESPN’s First
Take on Monday. “Tony Ferguson looked amazing, those guys have been lined up to fight three different times and it hasn’t happened, so we’ll see how this thing plays out.”
If McGregor and his team are serious about pursuing an immediate rematch despite the lopsided nature of Saturday’s loss to Nurmagomedov, it probably makes sense to push against the Russian getting suspended for any particularly long length of time.
Kavanagh wasn’t letting Nurmagomedov’s entourage off the hook, though, and had strong words for the three teammates who jumped into the cage and attacked McGregor while the brawl was already going on outside the octagon.
“If Khabib had done that isolated, I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Kavanagh told Rogan. “He didn’t really hit (McGregor teammate Dillon Danis). There was a bit of pushing and pulling, who cares? But a man coming up, a trained fighter with bare knuckles hitting a guy who is tired and who has taken some rounds and taken some shots, there has to be ramifications for that.
“An example has to be made … It’s criminal, it’s assault.”
Kavanagh also spoke about the main event itself, in which Nurmagomedov was repeatedly able to take McGregor to the mat and lay a beating on him before securing a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
He had nothing but positive things to say about Nurmagomedov’s performance, although he admitted that McGregor’s striking wasn’t quite as crisp as it usually is and that played a role in the result.
I hope (athletic commission) is lenient on (Nurmagomedov). Not just so we can get a rematch. I just love watching him fight.
John Kavanagh