Report: Nurmagomedov, McGregor Agree to Settlements, Won’t Attend NAC Hearing

Tuesday’s Nevada Athletic Commission hearing might be a little less interesting than originally anticipated.

According to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor have agreed to settlements with the state of Nevada and will not be present at the meeting tomorrow morning. The settlement agreements will be presented to the commission and voted upon by the five-member panel. Nurmagomedov and McGregor are facing discipline for their roles in a post-fight brawl following the UFC 229 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 6.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Nurmagomedov teammates Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov have also reached settlements and will also not be present at the hearing, according to the report.

Nurmagomedov, the reigning lightweight king, and McGregor are still on temporary suspension, which means the 155-pound division has been in limbo until their fates are known. Both are facing potential fines and suspensions. The NAC has withheld half of Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse from the event.

Both McGregor and Nurmagomedov are facing punishment for the melee that began when the Dagestani fighter jumped out of the Octagon following his UFC 229 victory to attack McGregor cornerman Dillon Danis. In the meantime, McGregor climbed the cage and took a swing at Nurmagomedov training partner Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Then, Zubaira Tukhugov and Esedulla Emiragaev entered the cage to confront McGregor, and Tukugov landed a punch on McGregor from behind.

While those involved in the brawl are not likely to be in attendance, Jon Jones is still expected to appear before the commission. The UFC light heavyweight champion was scheduled for an evidentiary hearing after multiple drug tests ahead of UFC 232 revealed trace amounts of the anabolic steroid Turinabol, which Jones initially tested positive for in relation to his bout with Daniel Cormier in July 2017. It was determined that the abnormality was a residuel effect from that previous positive test and not a new ingestion of the banned substance.

Still, the NAC was unwilling to license Jones for his scheduled fight with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in Las Vegas on Dec. 29, and as a result the promotion moved the card to California one week before the event. Jones will need to be licensed by the commission so his title defense against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas can proceed as planned.