Why did Khabib Nurmagomedov attack Dillon Danis at UFC 229?
The infamous incident that took place after the historic Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor fight will always remain fresh in the eyes of most MMA fans. UFC President Dana White himself admitted that he was "sick and disgusted" over how things panned out after the fight.
The ferocity of the incident was so extreme that the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) imposed a whopping $500,000 and $50,000 fine on both Nurmagomedov and McGregor respectively.
The pre-fight trash talk and the series of events that forged a perennial animosity between the two fighters paved the way for the atrocious brawl that took place after the fight.
Coming into the fight, McGregor had already established himself as the UFC's biggest superstar. He defeated Eddie Alvarez to claim the UFC lightweight title and then ventured into professional boxing to face one of the greatest boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather. McGregor put on a commendable performance against the American, going ten rounds opposite him before the fight finally came to an end.
During the time McGregor was furnishing his boxing skills, Khabib Nurmagomedov had taken over the lightweight division in the absence of the Irishman.
The Eagle dominated the likes of Edson Barboza and Al laquinta to win the lightweight championship, and the MMA world eagerly anticipated the fight between Nurmagomedov and McGregor, which would have settled the debate of who is UFC's lightweight kingpin, after years of back-and-forth between the two.
Four days before Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Al laquinta at UFC 223, The Eagle and his entourage confronted and slapped Artem Lobov, the teammate of Conor McGregor.
Of course, this didn't go down well with the Irishman, and two days later, he appeared at the Barclays Center where Nurmagomedov was present for UFC's promotional events.
Just when Nurmagomedov and other UFC fighters were leaving the arena in a bus, McGregor, along with his teammates, pursued the vehicle.
The Notorious grabbed a dolly, and hurled it towards Nurmagomedov which shattered one of the bus' windows. Former UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was also present on the bus and was left traumatized.
A few months later when McGregor cleared out the legal issues following his attack, UFC finally announced the fight between McGregor and Nurmagomedov.
The Notorious and The Eagle were set to collide at UFC 229, and it was the latter who delivered a staggering performance against his Irish opponent. Nurmagomedov did exactly what he had done to all of his previous competitors and continued his unbeaten record.
However, what happened after the fight was scandalous. Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage and scuffled with McGregor's teammate, Dillon Danis.
Why did Khabib Nurmagomedov attack Dillon Danis after the fight?
Allegedly, Dillon Danis was said to be flinging racist comments at Khabib Nurmagomedov during the fight, an accusation which Danis denied later. Nurmagomedov's teammates, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Zubaira Tukhugov and Esed Emiragaev also exchanged blows with McGregor.
The implications of the post-fight incident
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were fined $500,000 and $50,000 respectively. The 32-year-old Russian was also handed a nine-month ban, while McGregor was suspended for six months.
UFC President Dana White was left stunned after witnessing the incident and admitted that it was indeed shameful.
"It's really not good for business when things like that happen, we don't need that type of stuff to sell a fight," said White at the press conference. “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m just disgusted and sick over it. God knows what the commission is going to do to Khabib and his guys. Will they even get a visa again to get back in this country? There’s a lot of repercussions from what they did tonight, ones I don’t even think they realize yet.”