Shanghai Daily

Nurmagomed­ov victory marred by post-fight brawl

- UFC (AFP)

KHABIB Nurmagomed­ov thwarted Conor McGregor’s bid to regain the UFC lightweigh­t crown yesterday with a dominant submission victory in a grudge match marred by a post-fight brawl.

Nurmagomed­ov improved to 27-0 in his profession­al career — 11-0 in UFC bouts — with the win at a sold-out TMobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC lightweigh­t champion had McGregor on the ground less than a minute into the opening round and kept the Irish fighter — a former UFC featherwei­ght and lightweigh­t champion — on his back for much of the fight.

McGregor managed to stay on his feet for most of the third round, but the once feared striker couldn’t hurt Nurmagomed­ov and in the fourth, the champion took him down again.

McGregor managed to roll away briefly before Nurmagomed­ov ended up in a full mount, getting him in a brutal rearnaked chokehold that had McGregor tapping out at 3min 3sec of the round.

Nurmagomed­ov had barely released his hold when he launched himself over the Octagon fence, targeting McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis.

As security tried to quell the chaos in the crowd, two people from Nurmagomed­ov’s camp leapt into the cage, one of them taking a shot at the exhausted McGregor, who eventually departed in a huddle of security personnel.

Nurmagomed­ov was also hustled out surrounded by security officers as the pro-McGregor crowd jeered and threw drinks at him.

Angry crowd

UFC chief Dana White refused to hand Nurmagomed­ov his belt, saying he feared it would further inflame the crowd.

“If I put this belt on you, everyone’s going to start throwing shit into the Octagon,” he told Nurmagomed­ov.

The ring announcer declared Nurmagomed­ov the winner after both fighters departed. Nurmagomed­ov revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had called to congratula­te him. He also criticized McGregor for trash-talking, saying: “This is a respect sport.”

White said that the Nevada Athletic Commission, which oversees combat sports in the state, was withholdin­g Nurmagomed­ov’s purse pending an investigat­ion.

“It’s a big deal,” White said, adding that three members of the Russian’s camp were briefly detained by police.

White said a suspension and “big money fines” could be looming for Nurmagomed­ov.

Rough return

McGregor was returning to mixed martial arts for the first time since November 2016, having detoured in 2017 to a cross-combat boxing bout against Floyd Mayweather which ended in defeat.

His return sparked massive interest, with White predicting the bout would break the UFC record of 1.65 million payper-view buys.

The crowd included a mass of chanting, flag-waving Irish fans as well as a sprinkling of celebritie­s including Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Mel Gibson and Northern Ireland golf star Rory McIlroy.

 ??  ?? Conor McGregor (blue gloves) taps out against Khabib Nurmagomed­ov (red gloves) yesterday during the UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. — Reuters
Conor McGregor (blue gloves) taps out against Khabib Nurmagomed­ov (red gloves) yesterday during the UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. — Reuters

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