UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has threatened to walk away from the Octogan, if teammate Zubaira Tukhugov is suspended for his role in the wild brawl that broke out at UFC 229 on Sunday (NZ time).
Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor in the fourth round of their lightweight title fight in Las Vegas, before a furious brawl started, the ugly scenes spilling into the crowd.
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Tukhugov got involved, when he jumped into the ring and attacked McGregor.
UFC president Dana White said he could ban Tukhugov for his involvement and that didn't sit well with Nurmagomedov.
In an Instagram post, Nurmagomedov (27-0) highlighted the incident where McGregor attacked his bus by throwing objects at it, injuring two of his entourage last year.
"I would like to address the UFC," Nurmagomedov told his 11.9 million followers.
"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 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 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."
Nurmagomedov also told the UFC to keep his US$2m (NZ$3.1m) prizemoney, which is still being withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission during its investigation.
"And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding," he wrote. "You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won't get stuck in your throat.
"We have defended our honour and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end."
Tukhugov was scheduled to face McGregor's teammate Artem Lobov at the end of the month in a UFC bout, but both sides confirmed to ESPN the fight is off due to the Vegas brawl.
Newshub.
