Khabib Nurmagomedov Threatens To Quit UFC If Teammate Zubaira Tukhugov Is Fired

Khabib Nurmagomedov training in 2017 (Image: Getty)

In a lengthy, captioned Instagram post, Khabib Nurmagomedov threatened the UFC with talk of quitting if his teammate, Zubara Tukhugov is fired.

Khabib Says He’ll QUIT UFC If His Teammate Is Fired

Nurmagomedov (27-0) is fresh off of a dominating win against Conor McGregor for the lightweight championship last Saturday. The fight spurred an explosion of unpredictable post-fight antics, including an altercation between Tukhugov and McGregor. In his post, he assured that the UFC was at risk of losing him, citing his loyalty to his teammates first.

“If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too,” Nurmagomedov said. “We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother. If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I’ll break it myself.”

An impassioned Nurmagomedov even suggesting that the punishment be inflicted upon him. “Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought,” he questioned. “If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started. In any case, punish me, [Tukhugov] has nothing to do with that.”

Nurmagomedov even ia willing to sacrifice his purse that the Nevada State Athletic Commission is holding from him, telling the UFC to “keep” his $2 million payout during the investigation.

Tukhugov was set to face McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov in late October, though both sides confirmed that the fight is off. Though the two parties face penalties and potential suspensions for their involvements in the incident, no arrests were made.