UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his title in an extremely powerful display against his strongest and most provocative player, Irish superstar Conor McGregor. This fight was the greatest in the history of the sport.
However, controversy struck immediately after Dillon Danis, a teammate of Conor McGregor, reportedly called Khabib Nurmagomedov a “Muslim rat” during the UFC 229 main event.
Khabib, known for his control, shocked the world by jumping the cage and getting into a fistfight with him before being moved away by security. Conor, who was still recovering from his distress at the hands of Khabib, was inside the cage at this point when he threw the first punch at Khabi’s companion and was duly punched back by another Dagestani.
Later in a press meet, Khabib stated “I want to say sorry to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, this is not my best side. I’m a human being, he talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father. He came to Brooklyn, and he broke bus and almost killed a couple people, why do people still talk about me jumping over the cage?”
Earlier in April this year, McGregor Conor gathered several thugs from Dublin, got them onto a private jet, and flew to New York in shocking scenes where he and his friends were caught on camera attacking a UFC bus that Khabib was sat on before his championship bout against Al Iaquinta, causing harm to fellow fighters including Michael Chiesa who sustained damage to his eye from the shattered glass.
Conor then also attacked his manager Ali Abdelaziz using offensive Islamophobic words and calling him a terrorist. Conor went further and linked his manager to the 9/11 bombers
His inflammatory comments about Khabib, his family, friends, religion and country are not the only time he has misbehaved with little to no consequences, despite several misbehaviours still, McGregor Conor is considered as a champion according to the UFC.
UFC kept Khabibs fight on hold while McGregor got paid, and also due is the decision by the UFC with concerns to the Khabibs belt and his possible suspension.
But the question remains, can Khabibs action be compared to those of McGregor and if so, is there truly a discriminatory double standard in the sport?