The Russian held a choke hold in the fourth round, forcing the opponent to surrender
Habib Nurmagomedov managed to defend the UEF championship lightweight champion title by defeating Conor Magregor of Irish in Las Vegas. The brilliant victory of the Russian was overshadowed by the fight after the battle with the participation of representatives of both teams, including Nurmagomedov himself, because of which he risks losing the championship belt.The battle in Las Vegas was eagerly awaited, and many were probably tired of the stream of accusations and insults that took place over the course of several weeks, right up to the weigh-in ceremony. In the so-called "trash-toking," MacGregor succeeded, repeatedly provoking Nurmagomedov and his team with harsh remarks and personal insults. Russian restrained himself, not stooping to the level of the Irish. However, his nerves could not stand after the fight, which could cost him the title, the opportunity to participate in fights under the auspices of the UFC, not to mention the provision of a visa to the United States.
The favorite of the battle was Nurmagomedov, who won all the previous 26 fights by the rules of mixed martial arts and won the championship belt of the organization in April of this year. There was no sensation in Las Vegas either: the Irishman managed to avoid a knockout after hitting an opponent with a right straight chin at the beginning of the second round, but he could not escape the defeat. In the fourth round, Nurmagomedov made a choke from the back, and Macgregor gave up.
However, it was not possible to hand the champion belt in octagon to the winner due to the fact that a scuffle began almost immediately after the end of the fight. Nurmagomedov after stopping the fight, the referee headed towards the corner of McGregor and threw a mouth guard there. In response, he fell into a fight, after which the Russian soldier climbed over the edge of the octagon and jumped into the crowd at the representatives of the Irish team.
In parallel, several members of the Nurmagomedov team ran into the Octagon and staged a fight with MacGregor. All this resulted in the detention by police of three members of the Russian fighter’s team, whose identities were not officially disclosed. They were subsequently released because McGregor dropped the charges. “If there was someone on the UFC contract, then he would not fight,” said UFC President Dana White at a press conference after the fight.
One of those involved in the fight with McGregor was fighter Zubair Tukhugov, who on his Instagram page admitted that he had slapped McGregor in the face. "As I promised," he said in a video message.Nurmagomedov waiting for sanctions from the UFC
Nurmagomedov himself later apologized to the press conference: “I want to apologize to all of Vegas, the Athletic Commission of [Nevada State]. It's bad, but how can people tell me why I jumped over the fence when someone talks about my religion, about my father. MMA is not a sport with insults, it is a sport in which an opponent is respected, I want it to be that way, I want to change this game. I know that my father will punish me when I return home, but I’m an invincible and absolute champ ", - he said.
The Russian also spoke about the call of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Putin called after all this, congratulated me on the victory and said he was very proud,” he said.
Investigation of the incident will deal with the state athletic commission. Nurmagomedov could face disqualification and a fine. “If the disqualification is lengthy, then we’ll probably deprive him of the title,” White said. “Of course, there will be sanctions. A guy who jumps into the crowd will no longer fight here.”
White also said that Nurmagomedov would not receive a fee and interest from a paid broadcast until the investigation was completed. He did not even talk about a possible rematch of his rivals. “Now this is not the point. If Habib is even given a visa again after such behavior,” he noted.
In this case, the Irish fighter said he wanted to hold a revenge with Nurmagomedov. “Great hit, waiting for revenge,” MacGregor wrote concisely on his Twitter account.Experts did not doubt the victory of the Russians
The battle took place when it was early morning in Moscow, but after the match ended on Manezhnaya Square, one could see a group of four people, one of whom was wearing a white fur hat. Celebrating the victory of the fighter buzzed passing cars in the center of the capital.
As the Acting Minister of Sports Magomed Magomedov told TASS, no one slept in Makhachkala either. "Everyone was waiting for the outcome of the fight, but no one doubted that Habib would win, this is a very important moment for all of us - the fighter defeated under the Russian flag won. Not just won, he strangled an opponent who impermissibly behaved before the battle began," he noted .
Vice-President of the Union of MMA of Russia Ratmir Gabdullin noted that there was no doubt about the victory of Nurmagomedov. “I expected that the victory would be either a unanimous decision or a powerful pressure from Habib in the first two rounds and a painful or suffocating victory in the third round,” he said.
