On this day: Khabib Nurmagomedov submits Conor McGregor at UFC 229
Eight years ago Khabib won in the fourth round, then went over the cage. The night sold 2.4 million pay-per-views, still a UFC record.
Eight years ago today, Khabib Nurmagomedov beat Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in Las Vegas in the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history.
Khabib kept his lightweight title with a neck crank at 3:03 of the fourth round at T-Mobile Arena on 6 October 2018, in the early hours of 7 October in the UK. The event sold about 2.4 million pay-per-views, a figure no UFC or MMA event has beaten, in front of 20,034 fans and a gate of more than $17 million.
Moments after the finish, Khabib threw his mouthguard towards McGregor's corner, climbed out of the Octagon and charged at McGregor's cornerman Dillon Danis. McGregor and Khabib's cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov also tried to climb out and scuffled, and back in the Octagon McGregor was attacked by two of Khabib's cornermen, Zubaira Tukhugov and Esed Emiragaev.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission later suspended Khabib for nine months and fined him $500,000. McGregor was suspended for six months and fined $50,000, and Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov were each suspended for a year.
On the same card, Tony Ferguson beat Anthony Pettis in the second round when Pettis's corner pulled him out.
UFC president Dana White this week recalled having dinner with McGregor when the UFC signed him, after which he told Lorenzo Fertitta that "if he can even throw a punch, he's going to be a massive superstar".
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