Dillon Danis, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and Zubaira Tukhugov will be in the sidelines for a little longer.
UFC 229, it seems, has become one of the most infamous fight cards in recent history. Not only did it generate a live gate of $17.2 million, the second-highest after UFC 205, it will also be forever remembered for the brawl that took place right after Khabib Nurmagomedov cranked Conor McGregor’s face in the fourth round, forcing the Irishman into submission.
Both McGregor and Khabib are currently serving their indefinite suspensions, as they await the Nevada Athletic Commission’s decision in a December 10th meeting. These sanctions are shared by members of their respective teams, namely Dillon Danis, Zubaira Tukhugov, and Abubakar Nurmagomedov, all of whom had a hand in the post-fight incident.
All three were also given temporary suspensions and were mandated to appear before the Commission in a meeting on Wednesday, but none of them showed up. This urged NAC members to extend their suspensions until the December 10th meeting.
The participation of both Abubakar and Tukhugov in the melee were captured on video and shared online multiple times, but how Danis was involved was never really clarified, save for reports of his alleged anti-Muslim slurs against Khabib. But according to Nevada Chief Attorney General Caroline Bateman, Danis did do something to provoke the current lightweight champion, and it was also caught on video.
“Video evidence reveals that immediately after the conclusion of the main event, (Danis), who worked the corner for Conor McGregor repeatedly motioned to Khabib Nurmagomedov with his arm to come over towards him,” Bateman said (via MMAjunkie). “Nurmagomedov jumped over the cage towards the respondent, and the two men engaged in a fight and throw punches towards one another.
“When officials are able to eventually break up the fight, and they begin to escort the respondent out of the arena, respondent responds by raising his arms and directing obscene gestures towards the cage by extending his middle finger.”
Tukhugov is still signed with the UFC, despite Dana White’s threats that he would be released from the company for his involvement in the brawl. Abubakar and Danis, on the other hand, are fighting under PFL and Bellator, respectively.