Khabib Nurmagomedov took only one question in his UFC 229 post-fight press conference and responded with a 3-minute statement, issuing an apology to the Nevada Athletic Commission and the city of Las Vegas for the post-bell brawl that he started.
The UFC lightweight champion, a Russian who trains in San Jose, said his friends there know the real Khabib, not the one who attacked one of Conor McGregor's teammates Saturday night.
"My whole team, where I'm training [in] California, seven years, everybody knows who I am," Nurmagomedov said. "All my friends, like everybody who knows me, they know who I am."
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UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who trains with Khabib, defended his American Kickboxing Academy teammate earlier in the night, tweeting "... it wasn't fight stuff, it was personal" for Nurmagomedov.
That indeed seemed to be the case, as Khabib remained defiant about McGregor, pointing out all the things "The Notorious" has said about him and done before their meeting at T-Mobile Arena. Khabib then called McGregor and his teammates "tap machines" -- implying they're quitters -- and he bragged that Russian president Vladimir Putin called to congratulate him after the fight.
McGregor famously posed with Putin for a photo at the World Cup Final in July, and called the president "one of the greatest leaders of our time."
Watch Khabib's statement in the video and link below, but be warned that it contains some NSFW language.
This Saturday night wasn't all right for fighting, though. UFC president Dana White said Nurmagomedov is under investigation by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the post-fight fisticuffs and could face a fine, a suspension or possibly the loss of his championship belt.