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UFC fighters Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are being suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a brawl that erupted inside and outside the octagon after their lightweight title fight last weekend in Las Vegas, an official said.
Letters were sent Wednesday informing both mixed martial arts fighters that they will be suspended for at least 10 days effective Oct. 15, commission executive Bob Bennett.
A commission investigation is pending and the panel can extend the temporary suspension when it meets Oct. 24, Bennett said.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor could also appeal Bennett's executive action at that time.
Nurmagomedov, who was praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting Wednesday in Moscow, responded with an angry Instagram post saying he was being unfairly punished.
The fighter complained that discipline didn't follow an incident last April in Brooklyn, New York, when McGregor shattered windows of Nurmagomedov's bus with a hand truck after Nurmagomedov confronted one of McGregor's teammates days earlier.
"They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"
Nurmagomedov posted. "We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end."
McGregor's manager, Audie Attar at Paradigm Sports Management, said he was confident the investigation will clear McGregor.
"It will be clear who and where the blame lies," Attar said in a statement. "We are focused on the future."
Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz at Dominance MMA Management, did not immediately respond to emails. Abdelaziz's telephone was not accepting messages.
However, Fighting erupted outside the octagon late Saturday, after McGregor (21-4) tapped out during a chokehold by Nurmagomedov (27-0) in the fourth round of UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena.
The Russian champion from Dagestan then stepped away from McGregor, climbed over the cage and scuffled with a fighter in the Irishman's corner.
Members of Nurmagomedov's entourage climbed into the octagon and attacked McGregor, and McGregor also tried to climb out of the cage during the brawl.
Nurmagomedov's $2 million for the fight has been withheld by the commission pending the outcome of the investigation, Bennett said. McGregor received his $3 million purse.
"You can keep my money that you are withholding," Nurmagomedov posted. "I hope it won't get stuck in your throat."
UFC President Dana White said three members of Nurmagomedov's camp were detained by police but released because McGregor refused to press criminal charges.
White said the UFC might strip the lightweight title from Nurmagomedov.
The man who took down Conor McGregor last week has threatened to quit the UFC and says he doesn't even want his prize money.
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor at the UFC 229 competition by way of a submission hold, but the end of the fight was marred by an ugly brawl where punches were thrown by both camps.
It's unclear exactly what happened, but during the brawl McGregor was hit by members of Nurmagomedov's camp.
McGregor has decided not to press any charges, but UFC authorities have withheld Nurmagomedov's $US2 million prize and are considering sanctions like kicking him out of the UFC.
Nurmagomedov - the undefeated lightweight champion - posted a message on his Instagram page early this morning, New Zealand time, saying he no longer wanted the prize money.
Taking aim at the UFC itself, he asked "why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people?
"They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"
The comments relate to an incident during the lead-up to the McGregor fight where McGregor threw a heavy metal dolly at Nurmagomedov's tour bus.
The dolly shattered glass, which causes facial injuries to two of Khabib's team.
"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought ... if you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started.
"In any case, punish me, [team mate Zubaira Tukhugov] has nothing to do with that ... if you think that I’ll keep silent then you are mistaken.
"You cancelled Zubaira’s fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor ... but don’t forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video.
"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother.
"If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself.
"And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding ... you are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat.
"We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end."
The message also seemed to unofficially confirm that UFC had cancelled Tukhugov's upcoming bout against Artem Lobov - a team mate of McGregor.
A new initiative championing women and girls in sport and active recreation has been launched by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson today.
The initiative, launched on the United Nations' Day of the Girl, will see an increase in support for female athletes, hoping to improve participation rates among women and girls.
At least $10 million will be invested over three years, including marketing campaigns and a contestable activation fund, hoping to increase efforts to grow female leadership, coaching and governance among women.
Efforts will also be made to provide support for the International Working Group for Women in Sport, through to their next global conference, to be staged in Auckland in 2020.
"Our new strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation seeks to tackle and overcome the clear inequalities for women and girls when it comes to participation, leadership and visibility within sport and active recreation in New Zealand," Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.
"Girls and women are 50 percent of our population, and it's not good enough that they continue to be underrepresented in leadership, face more barriers to participating, and are far less valued and visible in sport and active recreation. This strategy seeks to even the playing field.
"I am pleased we have a strategy to grow female representation in governance, and that the Government is role modelling change through ensuring Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ have equal numbers of men and women on their governance boards. I encourage all national sports organisations to look at how they can increase the numbers of women in leadership and governance roles."
