Khabib given $500k fine and 9-month suspension for McGregor brawl at UFC 229

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for 9 months and fined $500,000 for the brawl which followed his UFC 229 win over Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.

The five-strong commission agreed on Tuesday to slap perhaps the biggest name in world MMA with the half a million dollar fine, which is a quarter of his $2 million fight purse, and a 9-month suspension.

Nurmagomedov became the focal point of fierce media attention when he sprung over the octagon and began fighting with McGregor teammate Dillon Danis just moments after his fourth-round submission of the Irishman at the T-Mobile Arena.

While violence raged after the stoppage and outside the ring, two members of Khabib's entourage climbed inside the cage and began throwing punches at the defeated McGregor, who then return fire.

For his troubles, McGregor was handed a 6-month suspension, also backdated to the night of the fight and which will expire on April 6, 2019, and ordered to pay the significantly lesser sum of $50,000. Neither fighter was present at the hearing. 

Immediately after the conclusion of proceedings in Nevada, Khabib tweeted a typically laconic response to the decision, simply saying "politics forever". Danis was quick to reply, posting an equally concise reply of "shut up" to the Dagestan native.

Zubaira Tukhugov, Khabib’s teammate who was involved in the attack on McGregor, was suspended for 12 months from the date of the fight, and fined $25,000 by the commission.