Khabib Nurmagomedov intends to avoid fighting in Nevada in the future
Nurmagomedov is furious about the penalty that was handed down to him on Tuesday for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight melee.
At the first Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing of the year, the UFC lightweight champion was fined $500,000 and suspended for a maximum of nine months for sparking the brawl last October.
Nurmagomedov's manager was willing to accept the suspension but the disparity between fines for 'The Eagle' and Conor McGregor did not sit well with Ali Abdelaziz.
Abdelaziz described the difference as "bullshit" and claimed that Nurmagomedov will no longer fight in Nevada due to the punishments handed down to teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who were both fined $25,000 and banned for 12 months for their parts in the melee.
"He's done with Vegas for giving his brothers such harsh punishment," Ali Abdelaziz told
ESPN. "He loves MSG [Madison Square Garden]. Lots of his fans live around there, and New York has always been good to him. He misses fighting in New York."
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McGregor was fined $50,000 and suspended for six months and, in all likelihood, Nurmagomedov will only end up serving six months of his ban if he takes part in a planned anti-bullying PSA but apparently, 'The Eagle' will not compete again until his teammates' suspensions are complete.
That means that McGregor will be free to fight again on April 6 but Nurmagomedov is not interested in taking to the Octagon until October 6 at the earliest.
A rematch between 'The Notorious' and Nurmagomedov has been discussed since the fourth-round neck crank closed out their initial meeting last year and while Nevada is going to continue to push to host the biggest fights in the UFC, the undefeated Russian is going to take some convincing to fight in Las Vegas again.
