| UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 6, 2018 (2018-10-06) | |||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| City | Paradise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | 20,034[1] | |||
| Total gate | $17,188,894.67[2] | |||
| Buyrate | 2,400,000[3] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregorwas amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at theT-Mobile Arena inParadise,Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[4]
This event was the second most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buyrate of 2.4 million.[3]
The event was headlined by aUFC Lightweight Championship bout between the undefeated formerUFC Lightweight championKhabib Nurmagomedov and formerfeatherweight andlightweight championConor McGregor.[6] McGregor captured the lightweight title atUFC 205, when he was the reigning featherweight champion.[7] McGregor never defended the title, he took some time off in 2017 due to the birth of his firstborn and later venturing himself in aboxing match againstFloyd Mayweather Jr.[8][9] The UFC originally planned an interim title bout between Nurmagomedov andThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winnerTony Ferguson atUFC 209, but it was canceled due to Khabib having medical issues related to his weight cut on weigh-in day.[10] Ferguson eventually won the interim title atUFC 216 againstKevin Lee.[11] Ferguson was then expected to meet Nurmagomedov atUFC 223, with the winner being crowned the undisputed champion (as McGregor would be stripped of the title as soon as the bout took place). In turn, it was scrapped once again (fourth time) as Ferguson got injured, and after several possibilities for an opponent, Nurmagomedov eventually won the vacant title againstAl Iaquinta.[12][13] The event was preceded by a widely publicizedincident in which McGregor threw adolly at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and other fighters, injuring two. He was arrested and charged, but the UFC did not formally discipline him. Footage of the incident was later used in official promotion, sparking controversy, though UFC President Dana White defended its inclusion.[14][15]
Jussier Formiga was previously scheduled to faceSergio Pettis in January 2017 atUFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn. However, Formiga pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.[16] The pairing was rescheduled for this event.[17]
On October 1,Sean O'Malley announced that he was pulled from a bout againstJosé Alberto Quiñónez after failing aUS Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug test.[18] In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Quiñónez from the card and reschedule him for a future event.[19]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) | def. | Conor McGregor | Submission (neck crank) | 4 | 3:03 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Tony Ferguson | def. | Anthony Pettis | TKO (corner stoppage) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Dominick Reyes | def. | Ovince Saint Preux | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Derrick Lewis | def. | Alexander Volkov | KO (punches) | 3 | 4:49 | [b] |
| Women's Strawweight | Michelle Waterson | def. | Felice Herrig | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Flyweight | Jussier Formiga | def. | Sergio Pettis | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Vicente Luque | def. | Jalin Turner | KO (punches) | 1 | 3:52 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Aspen Ladd | def. | Tonya Evinger | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:26 | |
| Lightweight | Scott Holtzman | def. | Alan Patrick | KO (elbows) | 3 | 3:42 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Yana Kunitskaya | def. | Lina Länsberg | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Nik Lentz | def. | Gray Maynard | TKO (head kick and punches) | 2 | 1:19 | |
| Welterweight | Anthony Rocco Martin | def. | Ryan LaFlare | TKO (head kick and punches) | 3 | 1:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses:[21]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theNevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $6,636,000.[22]
At the T-Mobile Arena, the event drew an attendance of 20,034 fans, generating alive gate revenue of$17.2 million. It set the record for the highest ever mixed martial arts attendance and live gate inNevada.[1] It also set the record for the biggest MMApay-per-view event, with 2.4 million buys in the United States.[3]
In Nurmagomedov's home country ofRussia, the fight set the viewership record for the country's most-watched MMA event. On Russian channelMatch TV, where the event began airing at 05:00MSK and the Nurmagomedov-McGregor fight after 07:00MSK, the fight was watched by more than 4 million viewers and reached a peak viewership rating of 67.5% for the time slot in the capitalMoscow.[23] In theUnited Kingdom, the fight was watched by 1,282,500 viewers onpay television subscription channelBT Sport 1, including 260,700 viewers for the live 01:00 broadcast and 1,021,800 viewers for the 06:00 replay.[24]
Seconds after the fight, Nurmagomedov hurled his mouthpiece towards McGregor’s corner, then proceeded to climb out of the octagon and charged toward McGregor's cornermanDillon Danis. Soon after, McGregor andAbubakar Nurmagomedov (cousin of Khabib) also tried to climb out of the octagon, but a scuffle broke out between them.[25] Back in the octagon, McGregor was then attacked by two of Nurmagomedov's cornermen:Zubaira Tukhugov and Esed Emiragaev.[26]
As a result of the incident, Nurmagomedov's payment for the fight was withheld by theNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) pending an investigation into his actions.[22] Tukhugov was scheduled to fight on October 27 atUFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith againstArtem Lobov, McGregor's teammate who was confronted by Nurmagomedov in April 2018.[27]
Nurmagomedov appeared at the post-fight interview and apologized to the NSAC, saying he was provoked by the McGregor team'strash-talk targeting his family, nation, and religion, as well as theUFC 223 bus incident.[28]
The NSAC filed a formal complaint against both McGregor and Nurmagomedov and the final hearing was initially scheduled to take place in November.[29] On October 12, they announced both fighters received a suspension for ten days come October 15 and a hearing would be held on October 24.[30] On October 24, the NSAC unanimously voted to release half of Nurmagomedov's payout immediately.[31] The commission also voted to issue temporary suspensions for both fighters and ordered them to appear in person for a further hearing in December to resolve the case.[32]
On January 29, 2019, the NSAC announced a nine-month suspension for Nurmagomedov and a $500,000 fine. The agreement also includes a potential suspension reduction of up to three months if he delivers to the commission a public service announcement on anti-bullying. To receive the reduction, the commission must approve the PSA and its distribution plan. Additionally, Nurmagomedov can only receive credit based on the time he submits the PSA. McGregor was suspended for six months and given a $50,000 fine. In separate agreements, Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Tukhugov were each suspended one year for their roles in the melee. All suspensions are retroactive to the day of the event.[33] A few days later, Nurmagomedov stated that he would not opt to do the PSA stating "The state of Nevada is where drugs, prostitution and gambling are officially permitted. Let them work on themselves."[34] Danis was suspended for seven months and fined $7,500, also retroactive to the day of the event.[35] On May 22, 2019, NSAC reduced the suspensions by 35 days, which allowed Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Tukhugov to be eligible to compete again on September 1, 2019.[36]
