Dana White Insists Khabib Nurmagomedov is Not Leaving the UFC
A week ago, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was threatening to break his contract and leave the UFC, but now, according to UFC President Dana White, "It's all good."
Nurmagomedov triggered an explosive post-fight brawl at UFC 229 when he defeated Conor McGregor and then leapt over the cage fence to attack McGregor cornerman Dillon Danis. A couple of Nurmagomedov's teammates spilled into the Octagon with one of them (later identified as Zubaira Tukhugov) attacking McGregor from behind.
White later insisted that any of the fighters that jumped into the Octagon would never fight in the UFC again. Tukhugov was on the UFC roster at the time and scheduled to next fight McGregor teammate Artem Lobov.
Nurmagomedov later threatened via Instagram to break his UFC contract and leave if his teammate was fired over the incident.
"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too," Khabib declared.
Tukhugov has since been removed from the Lobov fight, although company officials have not commented on his contractual status.
That, of course, led everyone to wonder about Nurmagomedov's status as well, as he was on the edge of leaving the promotion where he holds the lightweight title. White insisted on Tuesday that the situation has been ironed out and that Nurmagomedov is not going anywhere.
"We worked it out. We're gonna get everything worked out. Obviously, he was a little upset and a little fired up," White told TMZ Sports.
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"Listen, guys get very emotional and that was a very emotional fight for (Khabib). At the end of the day, Khabib is a great guy and we've always had a great relationship with him. So, it's all good."
While White ensured everyone that Nurmagomedov was going nowhere, he did not give the same assurance about Tukhugov.
"I don't know what's going to happen (with Tukhugov), we'll see how it all works out."
Dana White Addresses Attack on Conor McGregor (UFC 229 Post-Fight Presser)
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