From start to finish, Khabib laid waste to his opponent, Al Iaquinta, in dominant fashion. He tallied another win, and a new addition to his now 26-0 record.
In an unexpected turn of events, Khabib Nurmagomedov called out an unexpected opponent for his next match — Georges St-Pierre. Most had assumed the Dagestani fighter would call out Conor McGregor.
During his post-fight interview with legend Joe Rogan, Khabib has the following to say:
“Like Georges St-Pierre said, even if you’re a black belt then you have to remain a white belt in your mind.
But now I want to fight with Georges St-Pierre in New York, Madison Square Garden in November.”
Gracious and sportsmanlike in victory, Nurmagomedov sang praise of Al Iaquinta, his opponent in the bout.
The American fighter stepped up to the plate to fight one of the best in the world in Khabib Nurmagomedov. With only a few days notice, and very little time to formulate a game plan, Al Iaquinta is a true warrior.
In light of recent events with McGregor attacking Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bus at the UFC 223 press conference, Khabib took the opportuntiy to take a nuanced shot at the Irish fighter. Khabib called him a chicken, and evenutally outright took shots, saying:
“Where is Conor? He wants to fight with a bus? I want to fight with a real gangster. Iaquinta, thank you so much.”
The superstar thew a dolly at a van containing many UFC fighters. Multiple fighters were injured in the melee, and three had to drop out of their respective fights entirely.
After the incident, McGregor went on the lamb for a short period of time before turning himself into the police.
Conor was convicted of three charges of assault, and one charge of felony criminal mischief. The New York Police Department held no punches in their prosecution.
The President of the UFC, Dana White, showed complete disgust towards his cash cow, Conor McGregor’s actions. He believes Conor is going to lose a large number of fans, and have difficulty securing opponents for future fights.
A $50,000 bail was set, and Conor faces up to years in the US prison system.
Reports have surfaced stating the he will also be forced to incur the cost of all damaged property, missed fights, and any other UFC 223 expenses. That’s before he gets sued by the injured fighters. This incident will surely cost the Irishman a hefty amount by the time all is said and done.
Conor’s impetus for the attack appears to have been a prior incident between his teammate Artem Lobov and Nurmagomedov earlier this year.
Will Conor ever return to the cage to face Khabib?