UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t answer questions for the media following UFC 229 last night in Las Vegas, but he did his give thoughts on what happened, and though he is apologetic for brawling outside of the Octagon with Conor McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis following his victory, he also remained defiant, insisting that it’s not as big a deal as everybody is making it out to be.
“I want to say sorry to the athletic commission,” Nurmagomedov said at the UFC 229 post-fight presser. “Sorry to Vegas. I know this is not my best side. This is not my best side. I am a human being.”
So far Nurmagomedov’s comments were what you might expect after the disgraceful scenes that marred what otherwise would have been a perfect night for ‘The Eagle’, but then he changed course by suggesting that what McGregor has done in the past is worse than what happened in the aftermath of the fight.
“I do not understand how people can talk about ‘I jumped from the cage. 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. Worry about this sh*t. Why people talk about ‘I jump over the cage?’ Why people still talk about this? I don’t understand.”
Nurmagomedov then turned his attention to the media in particular.
“I want to say something, you know, people little bit, not people, I think it is media, media change MMA,” Nurmagomedov said. “This is respect sport. This is not trash-talking sport. This is respect. I told you before, guys, I want to change this game. I don’t want people talk shit about, like, opponents, talk shit about his father, religion. You cannot talk about religion, you cannot talk about nation, guys, you cannot talk about this stuff. For me, this is very important.
“My father teach me, you have to be always respectful,” Nurmagomedov said. “My old team where I am staying in California for seven years, everybody know who I am. All my friends, everybody who know me, they know who I am, you know? I told you guys, not only him, his whole team, they’re tap machine. I told you guys. When you put him the wrong way he’s going to tap. What happened today? they call him two-time world champ in two weight classes. But today, he tap, and that’s why the belt is here, undisputed, undefeated UFC lightweight champion.”
