UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is suddenly in the spotlight around the clock, it seems, and recently, things got a little zanier. Nurmagomedov, who defeated Conor McGregor via fourth round submission at UFC 229 just over a week ago, sparked a melee and near riot when he flew into the crowd immediately after the fight to attack McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis. The brawl that ensued saw three of Nurmagomedov’s teammates attack McGregor, leading to at least one fighter apparently cut from the promotion in Zubaira Tukhugov. Of course, Nurmagomedov has claimed he’ll walk from the promotion if that does in fact happen. And over the weekend, he made another outlandish claim: that the UFC staged the entire UFC 223 bus attack incident.

That incident, of course, saw Conor McGregor and multiple accomplices storm the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn during Fight Week this past April, ahead of UFC 223. McGregor was filmed smashing the window of a bus housing Nurmagomedov, and later faced criminal charges. He has also been subsequently sued by Michael Chiesa, who was on the bus and cut by broken glass.

“I had a team of about 20 men. We had a bus just like that, hired (for us) to go to the gym, press conferences all the media activities and so on,” Nurmagomedov told Channel One (via RT).

“But you know what’s interesting – on that day the UFC told me that on that media day I had to arrive alone. So I was traveling with all the other fighters who would fight from the red corner. I was in the red corner as well as a favorite. With me there was only one person (from my team) and my manager.”

“And if you watch the footage, you can see that the bus almost gets to the gate, and then suddenly it stops and pull back,” Nurmagomedov continued, then questioned “Why? If you see that some people are attacking the bus, then you should keep moving and get outside (from the parking lot). But then you stop and pull back. Why? For me there are a lot of questions. I don’t know whether the UFC made it all on purpose or not.”

“But they started to attack (the bus), break (windows). It was a crowd of around 20 men. Inside (the bus) we had three security guards. And as you can see (in the video), there were security guards outside as well, trying to stop Conor. In my opinion, I give 70 percent that it was a set-up.”

April’s bus attack was in response for another incident involving Nurmagomedov, in which he cornered McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov in a hotel lobby and grabbed him by the neck, with several accomplices of his own. Nurmagomedov was never charged or sanctioned by the UFC for that incident. Following the brawl that broke out at UFC 229, his purse was withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission — all two million dollars of it. Both McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s behavior after the fight is being reviewed, although the commission has paid out McGregor’s full purse.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov has been busy calling out Floyd Mayweather (that exact detour outside the UFC by Conor McGregor frustrated millions of mixed martial arts fans). Only, he doesn’t want to fight in Vegas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9iAIgHhep/?utm_source=ig_embed

Floyd Mayweather, meanwhile, claims to be interested. If all involved “get the checkbook out” at least.

CBS, Showtime and MGM Grand get the checkbook out!
Go to @leonardellerbe ‘s page to view Khabib Nurmagomedov challenging me.#CBS#SHOWTIME #MGMGRAND#MayweatherPromotions pic.twitter.com/6OtiDhtbNx

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) October 15, 2018

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Over four months after Conor McGregor and several cohorts stormed the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY and attacked a bus carrying a number of UFC fighters, lightweight Michael Chiesa has filed a lawsuit against the star and the venue itself. Chiesa (who will soon be heading to welterweight) was one of the fighters on said bus, housing Khabib Nurmagomedov. He suffered cuts to the face from broken glass after McGregor hurled a dolly into one of the vehicle’s windows.

TMZ was first to break news of the lawsuit. Chiesa had been scheduled to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 shortly after the incident, but was forced off the card due to his injuries. He would later face Pettis at UFC 225, where he missed weight, and was submitted via arm-bar. Afterward, Chiesa announced his intention to move to welterweight.

Per TMZ, the lawsuit alleges that Chiesa suffered “severe emotional distress, mental trauma and/or bodily harm” as a result of the incident. Hence he’s suing McGregor for “assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The Barclay’s Center, meanwhile, is targeted due to an alleged failure “to engage in proper security measures to protect the plaintiff and other patrons.”

McGregor was charged with a felony (criminal mischief) and three counts of misdemeanor assault following the incident. However, the UFC’s biggest star secured a plea deal that saw him plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. All other counts were dropped.

Chiesa currently has no fight scheduled. McGregor is set to face Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in Las Vegas on October 6.

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The MMA world wondered if we would receive a resolution to the Conor McGregor fiasco at UFC 223 and get one step closer to “The Notorious” returning to the cage today.  Instead, it appears we will have to wait a little longer as McGregor and his team appeared in court to say they would be looking to negotiate a plea bargain.  Both McGregor and teammate Cian Cowley appeared in court for a procession that lasted a little over a minute.  The judge set them another appearance for July 26.

By all accounts, McGregor’s actions were reprehensible but most insiders doubt he will see any jail time for his actions on April 05 where he threw a dolly at a bus prior to UFC 223.  The broken glass as a result caused lacerations to Michael Chiesa, which pulled him from his scheduled bout with Anthony Pettis.  Flyweight contender Ray Borg also had complications with his eye due to microscopic shards affecting his vision and was pulled from his bout with Brandon Moreno.  McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov also took part, joining McGregor’s crew as they caused unrest around the bus containing fighters.  Lobov was subsequently pulled from his bout with Alex Careers.  Also, strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was close in proximity to where McGregor did damage, and while  she felt distressed by the incident, she remained on the card.

Conor McGregor makes a statement after his brief court hearing #UFC pic.twitter.com/upL6V2rED2

— Chisanga Malata (@Chisanga_Malata) June 14, 2018

Following the court appearance, McGregor gave a brief statement:

“I regret my actions that led to today. I understand the seriousness of this matter and I’m hopeful this will get worked out. Thank you, everyone.”

UFC President Dana White said earlier this week that he had scheduled a meeting with McGregor for June 18 in which he hoped to get an idea of the Irishman’s plans for the future.  Currently, the UFC has been aiming towards putting together a fight between McGregor and current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.  At a time when the UFC has struggled with ratings on pay-per-view, getting their biggest draw back in the cage is undoubtedly the outcome they are hoping for.  If they are unable to come to terms, it is expected that Nurmagomedov will face the winner of the Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier taking place next month.

It is expected that McGregor will look to plead guilty in hopes of a lighter punishment, and most optimistically look to get a lesser charge. In a statement to Ariel Helwani, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar said after the hearing that he expects the entire matter to be resolved at the next court appearance on July 26.

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Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported the heavyweight bout, while MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn reported the title fight for UFC 226.

A matchup between Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou has been brewing for quite some time, with Lewis taking periodic shots at him on social media, and Ngannou offering some responses in interviews. The hard-hitting heavyweights both have their fair share of cardio issues, but can knock out anybody with a single punch.

Derrick Lewis is coming off a hard-fought victory over Marcin Tybura, in which Tybura was winning the bout with his wrestling, but Lewis exploded for a fourth-round TKO stoppage. The much-needed victory followed a tough loss to Mark Hunt, and a fight night injury that pulled him from a bout with Fabricio Werdum.

Francis Ngannou skyrocketed to the top of the heavyweight division, finishing all-comers in his first six appearances, including striking legend Alistair Overeem. The Cameroonian earned a title shot with his run and took on the great Stipe Miocic. Miocic ate what Ngannou had to offer, and grinded out five rounds that drained everything from the massive Ngannou, and he has not fought since.

It took some sorting out in the featherweight division, and an injury to Holloway, but Brian Ortega has earned his shot at the belt. Max Holloway was supposed to headline UFC 222 against Frankie Edgar but pulled out with an injury, and Ortega stepped in and took full advantage by knocking out Edgar in the very first round. Since then, Holloway was briefly scheduled for a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 but was unable to make weight.

UFC 226 is headlined by a superfight between champions Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, and takes place July 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Originally scheduled for UFC Austin in February, Borg vs. Moreno was then moved to UFC 223 after an injury to Borg. Of course, during the UFC 223 media day, as MMA fans well know by now, Borg was again hurt, this time thanks to particles of glass becoming embedded in his eye following Conor McGregor’s attack on a bus housing UFC athletes. Now, the promotion has announced (via it’s Latin American website) that Ray Borg will face Brandon Moreno at UFC Chile.

This time, hopefully, the fight goes off without a hitch. That sound you’re hearing? Fans knocking on wood.

Borg (11–3) is looking to finally get back in action after losing a title challenge to flyweight king Demetrious Johnson at UFC 216 last year. Prior to that, he had won five of his past six UFC bouts. Incredibly, some fans went as far as to accuse Borg of ducking Moreno after being forced off the UFC 223 card, something he responded to over the weekend. Hopefully, the fight being rebooked will put such talk to rest.

Brandon Moreno (14–4) will head to Santiago, Chile off the first loss of his UFC tenure, to Sergio Pettis last August.

UFC Chile, numerically UFC Fight Night 129, takes place May 19 at the MoviStar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Kamaru Usman vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio headline the event.

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I have been to several UFC events in my lifetime, UFC 189 most notably, but I had not attended a New York event since it was legalized two years ago. UFC 223 seemed like a perfect time to knock it off the bucket list. My ticket was purchased two weeks away from the event (surely I wouldn’t get Aldo-ed again after waiting this long), and all that was to be done was wait.

The Tony Ferguson news was a gut-punch that healed up quite quickly with the announcement that featherweight champion Max Holloway would replace him. Sure, I wouldn’t get to see the most anticipated fight in the UFC, but I’ll get to see the featherweight champ prove how badass he is by taking on the most feared lightweight on the roster on just a week’s notice.

The pre-fight press conference, the embeddeds, everything was building up the hype for this event so effectively following the two-week hiatus from Octagon action. Then Conor happened. Following the news and details trickle out was excruciating. Who’s hurt? What really happened? What’s the punishment? By the time all the details rolled in and video that captured the incident was released, we knew that Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa were affected by the broken glass and were unfortunately pulled from the card.

Two great fights down due to a ridiculous and entirely unexpected occurrence, but the depth of this card is what made it special. It was far from dead. Then Friday happened. Max Holloway was told to stop cutting weight, and all of a sudden we didn’t have a main event.

From there it was refreshing Twitter and navigating through the madness of trying to find Khabib an opponent. First, it was Anthony Pettis. Then he couldn’t agree to a deal with the UFC. Next, it was Paul Felder. Then New York said he couldn’t get a title shot because he wasn’t ranked(???). Next was Al Iaquinta. Then New York said he couldn’t fight for a title because he weighed 155.2 pounds (with underwear on and very early in the weigh-in window keep in mind).

The promotion was able to convince the incompetent state to allow Iaquinta to fight Khabib for a kinda-fake kinda-real title but who really knows? It hurt to lose Felder and Pettis since they would not fight each other as Roufusport stablemates. The remains of the fight card were set, and my train ride to the arena was pushed back two hours as a result of the 8:00 EST start time (originally 6:15).

The Barclays Center was packed, it was as full as I’ve ever seen it. Islanders games don’t fill the arena quite as much during the season. The first thing I did was knock down a fan’s beer as I made my way to my seat. Like UFC 223 was down four fights quickly, I was down $15 right away. If you are reading this, I am incredibly sorry.

Here’s the view from section 202 by the way:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhSmV31n8xl/

There was a solid energy to the crowd even after the two slower fights to start the night. Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s quick KO really put the night in gear, and the featured prelim between Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Felice Herrig kept that going. Karolina had plenty of fan support from a crowd that went through a few “USA” chants throughout the night.

The Baba O’Reilly montage video the UFC plays before a pay-per-view main card is still incredible.

All the joy in the building that followed the early fight of the night candidate was sucked away as we watched fan-favorite Joe Lauzon lose an early lead and get battered for 10 minutes. It’s terrible to see this point of a fighter’s career after he gave so much to the organization. The volume of the crowd really dissipated as a result of the contest.

But Zabit and Kyle Bochniak put on a show for the ages. The crowd’s choice fighter went from Bochniak because of USA vs. Russia, then for Zabit after seeing his style, then back to Bochniak after unleashing his inner maniac. That momentum was immediately consumed by the Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano bout, which provoked “Let’s start fighting” chants from the restless crowd.

New York was very behind Rose Namajunas. The crowd pop was much more noticeable whenever she was on the big screen compared to the former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The fight was great too. In a technical and fast-paced fight like that, it can be hard to tell who’s winning the exchanges when you’re seated in the upper-deck and want to watch the fighters rather than the big screen. I went into the decision thinking it was a fight that could’ve gone either way when general consensus said that Rose clearly won the fight. Oh well.

Also, “I’m just better,” is up there with, “You’ve taken everything I’ve worked for motherf***er,” and “Anderson Silva… you absolutely suck!” in terms of greatest post-fight lines ever.

The main event was a feel-good time all around. We got to see Khabib fight, and if he lost, it was to one of New York’s own. The love for each fighter was fairly even. Everyone wants to see Khabib vs. Conor one day, but Iaquinta with a belt around his waist would have been amazing.

The crowd was really into the main event and knew what to expect. The cheers peaked when Al escaped a takedown, and crescendoed as Khabib worked for one along the fence. Of course, Iaquinta did not win, but you could tell the crowd appreciated him stepping up on such short notice to take on a killer like Khabib.

As I mentioned before, this looked like a sold-out crowd. Which was great considering refunds were offered the day before after the event underwent many changes. The live gate numbers set a record for the arena with over 17,000 fans in attendance. It’s safe to say UFC 223 still found a way to deliver.

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UFC 223 is in the books, and it was an interesting night to say the least. Rose Namajunas defended her strawweight title in a hotly contested match against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zabit Magomedsharipov continued his march to stardom. Karolina Kowalkiewicz fended off a game Felice Herrig. Olivier Aubin-Mercier arrived as the ‘Canadian Gangster.’ Yet outside the cage, one particularly notable occurrence was the performance of UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.

Rogan’s commentary during the main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and massive underdog/short notice opponent Al Iaquinta has become a focal point for fans. Many have perceived it as inaccurate or even biased against the Russian star. Rogan spent much of the later rounds of the fight questioning Khabib’s stand-up game, a rather surprising twist in a fight that he was dominating. And while it is true that Khabib was seemingly unable to control Iaquinta the way many expected in the later rounds, and had noticeably slowed a step, it was still a landslide victory for ‘The Eagle.’

Rogan has now released a statement regarding his performance on the air at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, explaining his reasoning. Saying that it is “insanely rare to have a fighter as dominant as [Khabib Nurmagomedov],” Rogan went on to explain that “when I’m commentating on someone that dominant I am constantly looking for cracks in their armor, and on Saturday night we saw the first of those cracks exposed by an incredibly game Al Iaquinta.”

Iaquinta, mind you, did not win a single round in the bout on the judges scorecards. That said, even making it five rounds with the imposing Nurmagomedov is something of a victory. And while five of the Russian’s previous UFC fights have gone to decision, he had never before been in a five round fight. Many expected that would give him more time to ragdoll Iaquinta and finish him off. Instead, the New Yorker gutted it out to the end.

You can read Rogan’s full statement below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhVkUgKnexE/

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In the cage after his five round unanimous decision victory against Al Iaquinta on Saturday night at UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov called for a money fight. A money fight against one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. Against one of just four two-division champions in the promotion’s history. GSP. Georges St. Pierre. The Canadian was the man ‘The Eagle’ called out upon winning the UFC’s lightweight title. Not Conor McGregor.

Calling for the fight to be held in New York’s fabled Madison Square Garden, it seemed the newly crowned undisputed lightweight champion (undisputed to some, anyway, though Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor might have something to say about that) had moved on from pursuing a fight with McGregor.

That is, at least, until the post-fight press conference in Brooklyn. There, Khabib Nurmagomedov made it clear that McGregor was never really far from his mind.

“We have to finish this beef,” Nurmagomedov said (via MMA Fighting). “Beef, chicken, or something like this. He have to stop eat Burger Kings and — you want to fight? Come. I told you guys, we’re gonna make him humble. I told you guys, I’m gonna change this game. Now, only one champion. No more fake champions. No more champion who never defend his title, or something like this. Now, UFC have champion, and this champion want to defend his title. You want to fight? Come here.”

While it wasn’t the rallying cry that “we’re not here to take part — we’re here to take over!” was, it’s a start. But the question of fake champions looms large with an undisputed champion besieged by two other possible challengers to the throne, in McGregor and Ferguson. Not to mention Nurmagomedov having won the belt against the eleventh ranked lightweight, Al Iaquinta, in a fight booked at the eleventh hour.

Getting back to Khabib’s grand plan for McGregor, he added “Make world tour everywhere, Tokyo, Moscow, Dublin, Los Angeles, Rio. Big world tour, promote this fight, and fight end of the year, biggest arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. Why not? Or maybe in Zaire or Philippines. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter, I’m here. He want to become lightweight champion? He have to fight with me.”

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UFC 223 went down Saturday in Brooklyn, New York, and proved to be a more exciting affair in the cage than the frankly ravaged card looked on paper. Thrilling bouts between Felice Herrig and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Zabit Magomedovsharipov and Kyle Bochniak, plus Rose Namajunas defending her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk all brought enough action to contend for Fight of the Night. With just two stoppages on the card, mind you, there weren’t too many fighters in the running for Performance of the Night — though perhaps the promotion would break tradition and pick one combatant from a fight that went the distance?

Well, maybe some day. At UFC 223, however, the UFC went with the only two fighters who provided finishes on the card, granting both Performance of the Night awards. First up, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who put on a career-best performance against Evan Dunham on the preliminary card. ‘OAM,’ who spoke to Cageside Press about his desire to jump on the Brooklyn card after a prior fight with Gilbert Burns was scrapped just weeks ago, made short work of the gritty Dunham. A couple of big knees knocked the wind, and the fight out of him, and Aubin-Mercier (11–2) suddenly had the first TKO finish of his career.

After the bout, ‘The Quebec Kid’ transformed into ‘The Canadian Gangster,’ having some fun in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Yo, I just wanted to be a Canadian gangster,” he told Rogan. “I have a stache, I say sorry, I cry, I don’t give a fox!”

The Canadian Gangster 🇨🇦@OliAubin #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/1hQNdTLKhE

— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2018

Also rewarded for forcing a corner stoppage after the second, Chris Gruetzemacher picked up $50,000. His opponent, veteran and fan fave Joe Lauzon, was strong out of the gate, but faded fast, taking tons of punishment by the end of the second round. Bloodied and swollen, Lauzon may want to rethink continuing on given the damage he’s taken over the years.

Fight of the Night was awarded to the thrilling affair between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Kyle Bochniak. ‘ZaBeast’ displayed the creative striking and the well-rounded game he’s become famous for, while Bochniak refused to back down, goading his opponent and doing whatever he could to stay in the fight.

All four bonus winners will receive $50,000 U.S. for their efforts.

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After Multiple changes to UFC’s 223 main event that saw Tony Ferguson pull out due to a knee injury, current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped in just six days prior to the event. Only to be deemed medically unfit to compete and pulled from the main event. We then saw Anthony Pettis look to take his place as his fight with Michael Chiesa was cancelled due to lacerations Chiesa sustained when Conor McGregor  smashed the window of the bus he was in. That fell through. Paul Felder also stepped up but was denied by the commission due being unranked. His opponent, Al Iaquinta, was finally deemed acceptable. So at long last, UFC 223 had a main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta, booked only on Friday, the day before the event.

Of course, there was the matter of the NYSAC not recognizing Iaquinta as champ if he won, due to weighing in (for the Felder fight) at 155.2lbs, over the championship weight for title fights.

In the end, the UFC promised to ignore that, and fans wound up with an interesting pairing in Brooklyn. Iaquinta opened the action with a couple of punches as Nurmagomedov circled. Nurmagomedov shot for the takedown but was too far away, missing the mark.  Nurmagomedov shot again for the single and powered Iaquinta to the mat. Khabib then quickly took side control, and Iaquinta gave up his back. They scrambled, and Iaquinta made it back to his feet against the cage! Nurmagomedov powered him back to the mat however, and jumped to mount. The ups and downs continued, with Nurmagomedov all over his opponent, driving him back into the cage to end the round.

Iaquinta came out to start the second with low stance and pressed the action. Nurmagomedov fired back with a few shots that missed then shot the single. Al Iaquinta  broke free, but Nurmagomedov  shot the takedown again and drove him to the mat. Iaquinta then began working back to his feet as Nurmagomedov continued to grind him out. Al gave up his back, and Nurmagomedov was quick to find the hooks and look for the choke. Iaquinta managed to fight the hold, and was rewarded with punches from the top. He then covered up and looked to escape, only for Nurmagomedov to roll and try another choke. Iaquinta  escaped again but Nurmagomedov remained on top to end the round.

The third saw Nurmagomedov be first to strike; Iaquinta responded with a right.  Iaquinta took the center of the octagon and pressed the action. Nurmagomedov, back in center, fired off a high kick. Iaquinta stayed in the low stance and Nurmagomedov shot a take down that was stuffed. Next, Iaquinta followed with a couple hard shots. Iaquinta fired off a leg kick and Nurmagomedov responded with his own. Khabib came in with a low kick that Iaquinta countered with a punch; Nurmagomedov fired with a left followed by a right. The two continued to exchange as the third round came to an end.

The opening bell of round four saw Iaquinta moving forward with that low stance again. That he had made it this far was impressive. Nurmagomedov opened with a punch combo that pushed Iaquinta back. Iaquinta fired back with a right. Nurmagomedov started to load up on the jab but Iaquinta kept walking through it and firing back. Nurmagomedov shot another take down that missed the mark; the two went back to exchanging. Iaquinta  pressed the action, and went for a take down of his own that Nurmagomedov escaped. Al then caught his opponent on the way out with a right. Iaquinta kept moving forward as the two exchanged to close out the fourth, showing impressive heart.

The final round saw Khabib Nurmagomedov open with a shot at the take down that Iaquinta stuffed. Nurmagomedov fired the jab, which Iaquinta answered with a left to the body. Iaquinta followed with a strong left; he started to open up and land now. Nurmagomedov came back with the jab followed by driving him back into the cage. Iaquinta broke free but Nurmagomedov unloaded, sending Iaquinta into retreat mode. Nurmagomedov pursued with a flying knee that just missed the mark. Nurmagomedov went for the take down as soon as his feet hit the mat, and he dragged Iaquinta down. He then took Iaquina’s back looking for the choke, but Al was able to defend it. They rode it out from there until the horn sounded — at there was no surprise at who won gold.

After the fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov called for a fight with Georges St. Pierre at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Khabib Nurmagomedov def Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-43, 50-43)

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