UFC legend Chuck Liddell has spoken out about the chaotic scenes that followed the conclusion of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 229 on Saturday night, and he’s made it clear he feels that the current culture within the promotion is partly to blame for how things turned out.
In the post Liddell is also critical of the fighters themselves, but suggests that the UFC’s willingness to use things like McGregor’s bus attack as promotional material for the event and not properly punish major stars for stepping out of line has created an environment that can cause more trouble.
“Incredible performance by both fighters, (Conor McGregor) and (Khabib Nurmagomedov). But to end it like they did was a huge embarrassment to the sport. We (fighters) are sportsmen and champions and we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. We owe it to our fans and the sport itself,” Liddell wrote on Instagram.
“I don’t know when things started turning into some kind of s— show?!!! Unfortunately, when you allow more and more B.S. during weigh ins and outside of fights, you only slap fighters on the wrist for acting like barbarians and then offer them bigger contracts and reward them for this behavior. There is no penalty for their actions and it condones this type of behavior and consequently our sport loses its sacred respect.”
