Dana White declines to put belt on Khabib after UFC 229 brawl

Khabib Nurmagomedov entered his fight at UFC 229 with his UFC lightweight championship belt, won the fight, but did not exit the cage with the belt. That’s because Dana White declined to put the belt on Khabib following his postfight antics.

Khabib choked out Conor McGregor in the fourth round of their fight to get the submission win, but he was still heated after that. Khabib went hunting for McGregor’s team, threw his mouthpiece at them, and climbed out of the cage to attack them, inciting a brawl. McGregor was left to try and defend himself from a few attackers, one of whom climbed into the cage to sucker punch him.

In the aftermath, White and Khabib were shown having a conversation where Khabib was asking for the belt. White would not put the belt on Khabib, citing safety concerns. He told Khabib he thought fights would break out among the fans at T-Mobile Arena.

Nurmagomedov then exited the arena without his belt.

Khabib and his team are likely facing discipline from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and UFC over their post-fight behavior that had even Mike Tyson shaking his head.