UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov raised eyebrows with more than just his dominant performance against Dustin Poirier in 2019.
Nurmagomedov submitted Poirier at UFC 242 in what marked the Russian’s penultimate fight in MMA. After returning a year later to choke out Justin Gaethje for his third title defense, ‘The Eagle’ called time on his career.
The 29-0 legend’s pay-per-view headliner versus Poirier is also notable for what came before it.
The win against Poirier marked the first time that the lightweight gold was defended since Nurmagomedov’s UFC 229 victory over Conor McGregor. And there were quite a few similarities between them.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov repeated cage jump to greet Dana White in first fight post-UFC 229 brawl
UFC 229 saw months of tension and heated animosity boil over after Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor via a face crank.
The undefeated Russian subsequently jumped over the cage and launched a flying kick at Dillon Danis, who served as McGregor’s grappling coach.
While they fought outside the Octagon, inside, the defeated Irish star was facing attacks from some members of Nurmagomedov’s team.
Nurmagomedov was issued a $500,000 fine and nine-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for sparking the brawl.
But after ‘The Eagle’ forced Poirier to tap out 11 months later, the Russian fighter’s actions may have initially left the NSAC fearing that he hadn’t learned his lesson.
Nurmagomedov immediately jumped over the Octagon wall once again, pushing past the UFC security team’s frantic efforts to hold him back.
Thankfully, on that occasion, Nurmagomedov was pursuing a celebratory hug with UFC president Dana White — and no flying kicks were seen.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov apologized after attacking Conor McGregor’s corner
After being escorted out of the cage and having some members of his entourage briefly arrested, Nurmagomedov made an appearance at the UFC 229 press conference.
And while interacting with the media, ‘The Eagle’ had a couple of apologies to dish out.
“I want to say sorry to the athletic commission,” Nurmagomedov said. “Sorry to Vegas. I know this is not my best side. This is not my best side. I am a human being.”
The Russian’s apologies were assigned only to the commission and city, with no such remarks going the way of McGregor or the Irishman’s team.
Instead, Nurmagomedov questioned why his actions were receiving more scrutiny than McGregor’s during the controversial build-up to their grudge match.
“I do not understand how people can talk about ‘I jumped from the cage.’” Nurmagomedov said. “Worry about, he talked about my religion, he talk about my country, he talk about my father, he come to Brooklyn and he broke bus, he almost killed a couple people. Worry about this.
“Why people talk about ‘I jump over the cage?’ Why people still talk about this? I don’t understand.”
Years on from the incident, McGregor continues to fire occasional jabs at his rival.
While Nurmagomedov ignores ‘The Notorious’ for the most part, a recent social media post saw Khabib credit McGregor for his new training center, which he suggested was funded by beating the Irish star at UFC 229.