Crisis averted.
It seems current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be leaving the promotion anytime soon, as Dana White recently told TMZ Sports that everything has been worked out between the two sides.
“We’re good. We are good with Khabib. You guys are still posting that shit. It happened a week ago. A lot happens in a week in this business,” said White.
Indeed, “The Eagle” threatened to leave the promotion after White stated his training partner, Zubaira Tukhugov, would be banned from fighting inside the Octagon for jumping over the cage and smacking Conor McGregor. In fact, his fight against Artem Lobov, which was set to go down on October 27, 2018, was nixed and Michael Johnson was pegged as his replacement.
While White still isn’t happy with the post-fight brawl at UFC 229, he understands how Khabib’s emotions got the best of him that night.
“We are good, we worked everything out. We are going to get everything worked out. Obviously he was a little upset, a little fired up. We will get it all worked,” he added. “Guys get very emotional and that was a very emotional fight for him, obviously. At the end of the day, Khabib is a great guy and we have always had a great relationship. He’ staying.”
When pressed on Tukhugov’s status with the promotion, White wasn’t as clear. “I don’t know what will happen, we will see how it plays out.”
There is hope for Zubaira, as Dana and Co. aren’t opposed to bringing back fighters that were let go once the storm has passed. Just ask Yair Rodriguez.