When Khabib feared he would be stripped after White refused to hand the belt to him

One of the greatest UFC rivalries of all time was Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. Their mutual dislike captivated viewers across the globe with their verbal duel before they ever stepped foot in a cage.

The Dagestanii won the bout when it finally took place in the Octagon and went on to retire from the sport with an undefeated record several bouts later.

Khabib forced his opponent to surrender in the fourth round and tap out. Following his victory, Khabib climbed the Octagon cage and engaged in an all out brawl with McGregor’s squad, flying at Dillon Danis.

Naturally, McGregor retaliated. There was basically a confrontation between the two sides that had to be broken up in order to proceed with the belt ceremony. The atmosphere was electric.

After things had somewhat subsided, UFC president Dana White got in the cage to speak to Khabib and told him that he would probably have to take the title belt he had just won backstage.

Khabib was very timid about the situation and appeared to even fear he would be stripped over the cage jumping incident.

Dana White, on the other hand, had other plans. He told his opponent:

“This is what I believe, if I put this belt on you, everyone is going to start throwing s**t into the Octagon.”

Khabib tried to talk him into making it official. He said: “Brother, I’m ready for this!”

White said, “Other people might get hurt,” he caught his opponent’s earnest gaze.

Khabib can only truly blame himself for the outcome since he intended to ignite the mass brawl by leaping over the cage. Despite this, he remains one of the best the UFC has ever had, if not the best.

A number of athletes in his entourage were also subjected to penalties for the same incident but after Nurmagomedov pushed back, none of them were significantly penalized.