What to know about Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov hearings on Tuesday
The Nevada State Athletic Commission will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, and Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are on the docket.
The commission will decide what discipline the UFC stars will receive for their respective roles in a postfight brawl at UFC 229 in October. Given the names involved, Tuesday will likely generate plenty of media attention. Here’s what you need to know ahead of time.
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Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at noon ET in Las Vegas. The agenda includes individual disciplinary hearings for Nurmagomedov and McGregor, who may attend in person or (more likely) via phone. Attorneys for each athlete are expected to attend.
Per official complaints, the commission has accused Nurmagomedov of leaving the Octagon after his title fight against McGregor and striking or attempting to strike multiple individuals, including McGregor’s cornerman and professional fighter Dillon Danis.
The commission has accused McGregor of scaling the Octagon, refusing the commission’s orders to come down, and trading punches with Nurmagomedov’s cousin and professional fighter Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who had entered the cage.
Shortly after UFC 229, the NSAC placed Nurmagomedov and McGregor on indefinite suspension, pending a full investigation. The commission has also withheld $1 million of Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse. McGregor was paid his entire $3 million purse on the night of the fight.
In addition to Nurmagomedov and McGregor, the commission indefinitely suspended Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Danis and UFC featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov, one of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammates. The NSAC will eventually rule on each of those cases individually, as well.
Per the state’s regulations, there is virtually no limit on what the NSAC could do. It could fine each fighter up to 100 percent of his purse, and suspend him from competition for life. Neither of those scenarios is likely, but it illustrates the scope in which the commission can operate.
The largest fine ever issued in Nevada came against heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. The commission fined Tyson $3 million of a $30 million purse in 1997 for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear during a championship fight. According to multiple sources, neither athlete is expecting a suspension in excess of one year.
NSAC executive director Bob Bennett, along with the Nevada attorney general’s office, has been in contact with both fighters, negotiating a potential settlement. If both parties agree on a settlement, that deal will be presented and voted on by the Nevada commission on Tuesday.
The UFC’s lightweight division is essentially sitting tight until these two cases are resolved.
McGregor has expressed interest in an immediate rematch with Nurmagomedov, as well as a potential matchup against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Ranked lightweights such as Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Al Iaquinta are all currently unbooked.
It is absolutely worth noting UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones is also on the NSAC’s agenda.
Jones is tentatively scheduled to defend his title against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. The NSAC will vote on whether or not to license Jones for that event.
As you may recall, Jones was supposed to fight Alexander Gustafsson in Las Vegas last month, but the UFC moved the fight at the last minute because of a licensing issue with Jones. The NSAC will discuss Jones’ recent positive drug tests for a trace metabolite of chlorinated steroids. Jones has been cleared to fight in California with the metabolites, which experts have said offer no performance-enhancing benefits, but not yet in Nevada.