Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally gotten paid, but not in full.
According to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has agreed to pay Khabib $1 million of his $2 million UFC 229 purse, while the rest remains withheld. Additionally, Okamoto reports the NSAC voted unanimously on Wednesday to extend its temporary suspensions of Khabib and Conor McGregor for their post fight actions at UFC 229.
McGregor received his $3 million purse immediately after the fight, but NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell said that would not have been the case had the commission had comprehensive film to review on the night of the fight. Both fighters will remain suspended indefinitely, and there's no time frame for when the investigation will conclude.
Okamoto writes:
"Once the NSAC completes its investigation, it will file complaints against Nurmagomedov, McGregor and potentially other individuals involved. There is no concrete time frame for the process; however, Marnell told ESPN earlier this month he hoped to have it resolved before the end of the year."
Once the dust has settled it will be interesting to see who challenges Khabib for his lightweight championship, assuming he isn't banned from the promotion. McGregor recently offered a round-by-round analysis of his loss at UFC 229, along with his plans to fight whomever is put in front of him. A post on his IG page reads in part, "I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared. If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway."
UFC President Dana White is well aware that McGregor wants a rematch, and knows it will be another lucrative bout, but he tells ESPN, "... As a fight fan, you've got to go with Tony [Ferguson]. Tony had the belt, tweaked his knee, got stripped, this fight happens -- Tony never lost the [interim] belt in a fight. Neither did Conor, but Conor got the opportunity to actually fight [Nurmagomedov]. I think Tony deserves the next shot."
