UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has a message for his employers.
Nurmagomedov posted a message on Instagram stating that he would leave the promotion if they release Zubaira Tukhugov, a member of Nurmagomedov’s team that was heavily involved in the UFC 229 melee.
“I would like to address UFC:
“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?
“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, Zubaira Tukhugov has nothing to do with that.
If you think that I’ll keep silent then you are mistaken. You canceled 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.”
Numragomedov had his $2 million fight purse withheld by the Nevada Athletic Commission after the incident.