Khabib Nurmagomedov receives nine-month suspension, $500K fine for role in UFC 229 brawl

Khabib Nurmagomedov could be back as early as April.

On Tuesday’s meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission, a five-member committee voted in favor of a settlement agreement that will see Nurmagomedov receive a nine-month suspension and a $500,000 fine for his involvement in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. The suspension can be reduced by up to three months pending Nurmagomedov’s participation in an anti-bullying public service announcement that must be approved by the NAC.

Nurmagomedov’s suspension will be retroactive to Oct. 6, 2018, meaning Nurmagomedov could be eligible to compete again on April 6, 2019 should the suspension be reduced.

The fine will be paid from a portion of Nurmagomedov’s purse that is currently being withheld by the NAC. Nurmagomedov was set to make a guaranteed $2,000,000 for his UFC 229 bout in addition to pay-per-view bonuses.

Following his fourth-round submission win of Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229, Nurmagomedov exited the cage and leaped at McGregor cornerman Dillon Danis, which sparked a chaotic melee. Inside the cage, McGregor traded punches with other members of Nurmagomedov’s team, including UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov.

The brawl was the continuation of a long feud between McGregor and Nurmagomedov that included Nurmagomedov and company confronting McGregor friend and teammate Artem Lobov in a hotel lobby in Brooklyn last April, McGregor’s ensuing rampage later that week at the Barclays Center where he threw a dolly at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov, and personal insults exchanged in interviews, on social media, and during press conferences.

Neither Nurmagomedov nor McGregor were present at Tuesday’s meeting. Nurmagomedov was represented by attorney James Pisanelli.

Shortly after the suspension and fine were announced, Nurmagomedov took to social media to offer a response: