Russia’s Nurmagomedov apologizes for his behavior after fight with McGregor

Russian mixed martial arts fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov apologized at a news conference for his behavior after a fight with Ireland’s Conor McGregor at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 229 tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday, TASS reports.

Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title, securing victory by submitting his opponent in the fourth round. After the fight a mass brawl broke out between the teams of both fighters, including Nurmagomedov, who jumped out of the cage and attempted to beat one of the Irish opponent’s team members in response for insulting him. According to UFC President Dana White, the incident was started by Nurmagomedov. Only representatives of the Russian fighter’s team were detained after the mass brawl. White stressed that the Nevada Athletic Commission would investigate the incident.

"I want to apologize before the entire Vegas and the Athletic Commission [in Nevada]. This is bad, but how people can tell me why I jumped over the fence when someone speaks about my religion and my father. Mixed martial arts is not a sport with insulting, this is sport with respect for a rival, and I want this to be so, I want to change this game," Nurmagomedov said.

"I know that my father will punish me when I come back home, but I’m invincible and an absolute champion," he stressed.