"Dana White" Nurmagomedov to keep fighting despite recent melee in Las Vegas

Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov will remain cooperating with the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization despite his earlier statement to quit in case his compatriot Zubaira Tukhugov was suspended, TMZ sports web portal reported citing UFC President Dana White.

Nurmagomedov announced last week he was ready to cancel a contract with the UFC in case his compatriot Zabaira Tukhugovwas excluded from the list of the organization’s fighters.

"We're good with Khabib," TMZ quoted Dana as saying. "He's staying. This will all work out."

UFC Champion Nurmagomedov defeated Ireland’s Conor McGregor during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 229 tournament in Las Vegas on October 6, defending his lightweight title.

However, after the fight in Las Vegas, a mass brawl broke out between the teams of both fighters, including Nurmagomedov, who jumped out of the cage and attempted to beat up one of the Irish opponent’s team members for insulting him.

Tukhugov, 27, who holds a record of 18 wins, four defeats and zero draws, was reported to be involved in October 6 scuffle after the official fight in Las Vegas attacking Conor McGregor, while Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped out of the octagon. Tukhugov stated later in his Twitter account that he only slapped once the Irish fighter and did nothing else.

"We worked it out," UFC chief White said. "We're gonna get everything worked out. Obviously, he [Nurmagomedov] was a little upset and a little fired up."

"Listen, guys get very emotional… and that was a very emotional fight for him [for Khabib Nurmagomedov].," Dana White said. "At the end of the day, Khabib is a great guy and we've always had a great relationship with him."

Last week, the MMAjunkie.com website reported citing UFC President White that three of Nurmagomedov’s teammates were arrested after the melee for attacking Conor McGregor in the octagon adding that "two of them, believed to be UFC fighters Islam Makhachev and Zubaira Tukhugov, will never fight here."

The victory over McGregor was the 11th in Nurmagomedov’s career in the UFC. The Russian defeated his opponents in all of his 27 fights. The 30-year-old Nurmagomedov, hailing from Russia’s North Caucasus Region of Dagestan, was the first Russian to win the UFC champion title during the fight against his US opponent Al Iaquinta this April.

On April 8, Nurmagomedov defeated his US opponent Al Iaquinta in a five-round fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight belt in New York.

Nurmagomedov became the first Russian to be awarded the UFC champion title. The 29-year-old Russian clinched the 26th victory in his career with no defeats, while Al Iaquinta suffered his fourth defeat with 13 victories and one draw.