“It is not about money. It is about how the whole process is going. I don’t want to fight in Vegas.“
Khabib Nurmagomedov is furious with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and never wants to fight in Las Vegas again.
And, who can blame him?
Khabib, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, was suspended for nine months and fined an extortionate sum of $500,000 for inciting a post-fight brawl with Team McGregor at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena following his submission win over the ‘The Notorious’ at UFC 229.
Speaking to BT Sport in a recent interview, ‘The Eagle’ put the Nevada State Athletic Commission on blast and said he never intends to return to Vegas to defend his lightweight title.
“What happens in Vegas stay in Vegas,” Nurmagomedov said, per Low Kick MMA’s Abhinav Kini. “Everybody saw what happened in Vegas. Victory in my sight, we smashed him, smashed all his team.
“About city, I don’t know, I don’t want to fight in Vegas anymore. They take his money and they take my money 10 more times. It is not about money. It is about how the whole process is going. I don’t want to fight in Vegas. If some great fight happens in Vegas, I’m going to go and just watch. But I don’t want to fight anymore in Vegas.”
Nurmagomedov’s next title defense will be in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he will look to unify the title(s) against newly-crowned interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 on September 7.