Khabib's fight purse withheld after UFC 229 brawl; McGregor was paid
Khabib Nurmagomedov is still waiting to receive his fight purse from UFC 229.
As a result of the melee following his main-event victory over Conor McGregor - a wild scene that saw Nurmagomedov jump into the crowd and go after his opponent's corner - UFC president Dana White told reporters that the Nevada State Athletic Commission is withholding the lightweight champion's purse.
NSAC executive director Bob Bennett spoke to Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com and said that Nurmagomedov's money is being held pending an investigation.
McGregor, who took punches from members of Khabib's team after they jumped into the cage, received his purse.
White explained that the NSAC was originally withholding the money for both fighters, but the decision was made to pay McGregor after evaluating video footage of the mayhem and conducting an interview with him.
The NSAC announced on Friday that McGregor's purse for the superfight is worth $3 million, tying his own record from a UFC 202 matchup with Nate Diaz. Nurmagomedov was set to receive $2 million.
The scheduled purse amounts effectively stand as show fees, with potential cuts of pay-per-view revenue earned in addition to that total.