UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said he would like to fight again in September, two months after the end of his Nevada State Athletic Commission ban for the chaotic brawl with Irish MMA star Conor McGregor's team after the October fight.
"We are currently holding negotiations and I want to be back fighting in September," Nurmagomedov said, speaking with students at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow.
However, Nurmagomedov said he didn’t want to fight before longer sanctions on two other Russian fighters also end. Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov were each banned for one year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for their part in the brawl, the AP reported.
"They were banned because of me," Nurmagomedov said.
UFC president Dana White said earlier that Nurmagomedov is expected to return and defend his title in September.
It’s most likely Nurmagomedov will be facing the winner of the upcoming interim title fight between featherweight champion Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier. They face off in the main event at UFC 236 on April 13 and it’s expected that the winner will then go onto a unification bout against Nurmagomedov.
UFC Champion Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor during the UFC 229 tournament in Las Vegas on the night of October 6, 2018, defending his lightweight title with a choke in the 4th round of the fight.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor were slapped with various sets of sanctions over this incident. A court in the U.S. state of Nevada ordered a nine-month suspension and a fine of $500,000 for Nurmagomedov.
