UFC 229 was one of the most exciting nights in UFC history to date. While the feature of Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov was expected to be explosive given their history, no one could’ve expected the brawl which broke out at the conclusion of the fight.
Leading up to the fight, like with most MMA fights, there was trash talk and insults, but Nurmagomedov felt that McGregor may have crossed a line.
Nurmagomedov generally attempts to distance himself from the antics which McGregor partakes in before fights; for the Russian, this fight was entirely different. The Irishman, who is “notorious” for trash talking, had no reservations leading to the fight. He insulted Nurmagomedov’s religion, his family, his friends and his culture.
In the eyes of many, this “act” is unacceptable, but it is why McGregor has grown to such popularity. For McGregor it is only natural, it builds excitement for the upcoming fights. And, as has been stated by McGregor’s coach, this is McGregor’s personality.
The comments are not meant to be personal attacks, though they can be received as such.
For Nurmagomedov, being treated with the disrespect which he was given was unacceptable. Especially during the fight, when it is reported that McGregor’s coach, Dillon Danis, was throwing racial insults at Nurmagomedov.
The fight was sided towards Nurmagomedov as he outdid McGregor in most ways, leading to a fourth round submission win for Nurmagomedov. Afterwards, he spit on McGregor and jumped out of the ring to attack Danis. Following this, Nurmagomedov’s team jumped into the ring to attack the already beaten McGregor. Security came quickly and deescalated the situation.
The winnings for the fight were withheld from Nurmagomedov until an investigation was done. However, he has already issued an apology for his actions.
It is clear that he feels repentance for what he has done, though the verbal assaults he was being put through were perhaps too personal.
McGregor took the defeat in stride as he issued a Tweet shortly after his loss saying “good knock, look forward to the rematch.”
Perhaps McGregor was not ready for a fight of such proportions after being out of the UFC for so long. Since he announced he would be fighting Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring, he had not fought in a professional UFC fight. His last fight was Nov. 12, 2016, against Eddie Alvarez.
Whatever the case, McGregor has already requested a rematch against Nurmagomedov.
As the saying goes: no press is bad press. The scuffle was not necessarily good publicity for either team, but it definitely makes the audience more excited for a coming rematch. In the future, though, it will likely be appropriate for McGregor and his team to censor their pre-fight banter so that emotions don’t once again get out of hand.