Khabib doubles down on Nevada boycott: They allow drugs, prostitution and gambling!
KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV has doubled down on his vow to never fight in Nevada again.
On Tuesday, the UFC’s lightweight champion received a backdated nine-month ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his part in the brawl which followed his UFC 229 victory over Conor McGregor.
Nurmagomedov, who ignited the fracas, was also fined a staggering £380,950 ($500,000).
The undefeated Russian was furious with the ruling and the punishments given to his cousin - Abubakar - and his team-mate Zubaira Tukhugov, so much so that he declared he’ll never fight in ‘The Silver State’ again.
Initially, many took Nurmagomedov’s declaration with a huge pinch of salt, especially considering the fact he doesn’t get taxed when fighting in Las Vegas.
But it seems that ‘The Eagle’ is dead set on never setting foot in Nevada or ‘Sin City’ ever again.
“[The NSAC] said to take part in a social campaign… the state of Nevada is a place where they allow drugs, prostitution and gambling,” Nurmagomedov said at a media engagement in Russia.
“Let them work on themselves [and their own behavior].
“There were fighters who didn’t fight for two years and didn’t have their belts taken for a year and a half. I’m ready to fight, they were the ones who banned me.”
The state of Nevada is a place where they allow drugs, prostitution and gambling
Nurmagomedov was so incensed by his punishment, which dwarfed the sanctions imposed on McGregor, and those given to his team-mates - who received one-year suspensions and £19,072 ($25,000) fines for their respective parts in the melee - that he plans on sitting on the sidelines until November.
Such a decision would stagnate the progression of the lightweight division and spark calls for the UFC brass to relieve the Dagestan native of his title.
Nurmagomedov is unsure of if the latter will happen but expects an interim title to be introduced to the mix.
He said: “I think that they will create an interim title. It could be between [Dustin] Poirier and [Tony] Ferguson.
“Whoever wins will become the interim champion, and then at the end of the year we will fight for the real belt.
“I think that could happen. [But] at the moment I don’t know for sure.”
Nurmagomedov also has his sights set on a November showdown with future UFC hall of fame Georges St-Pierre, who himself is interested in fighting for the lightweight crown.
“He has one or two fights left… Georges St-Pierre is the greatest fighter ever to step in the octagon. That’s my opinion,” Nurmagomedov told Match TV in Russia.
“I think he can drop to my weight [155lbs]. It would be interesting to fight him.
“My return will be planned for around November, in New York [in Madison Square Garden].
“He’s fought there before, and there’s a big [Russian] diaspora."