In the following article published on this day four years ago, Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s manager shot a $50 million shot on his client’s behalf, and the following story shares Dana White‘s response.
Today, it is Khabib Nurmagomedov who is in a position to pay fighters as the head of his own Eagle FC promotion. Two years after the following story was published, Khabib had retired from competition with a 29-0 record.
In most recent Khabib news, the former lightweight champion has been celebrating his protege, Islam Makhachev, taking over the division’s throne after defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. Perhaps now, Khabib will demand from the UFC that Islam be paid $50 million the same way his manager did at this time four years ago.
The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 5, 2018, 1:39 PM]
Headline: Dana White Laughs Off $50 Million Talks From Khabib’s Manager
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White brushes off Ali Abdelaziz’s demand for a $50 million paycheck for Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov is coming off a successful defense of his UFC lightweight title. He defeated Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission last month. A post-fight brawl between members of both camps now have “The Eagle” and the “Notorious” one awaiting punishments from the Nevada State Athletic Commision. They are set for a hearing next month.
Dana White Responds To Khabib’s Manager
Recently, Nurmagomedov’s manager Abdelaziz said his fighter should get $50 million for his next fight. A sarcastic White laughed off those comments during the UFC 230 post-fight press conference (via MMAJunkie.com):
“Sure. They know what’s realistic for them. They know the answer to that question. It’s fun to say, though.”
Nurmagomedov’s UFC 229 salary was $2 million. This doesn’t include guidelines compliance pay or pay-per-view points. “The Eagle” was given half his pay by the NSAC commission, with the other half being withheld until a decision is made on his punishment. As for McGregor, his $3 million paycheck was given to him in full but the NSAC admits they would’ve withheld his pay too had they received the video footage they did ahead of time.
MMA News will keep you up to speed on the latest updates regarding the fighting futures of Nurmagomedov and McGregor. You can count on us to deliver tidbits from next month’s hearing, including any punishments that are handed out.
Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov will receive a bigger payday than he received at UFC 229 for his next outing?