I typically enjoy my chances as far as predicting the future is concerned and if I am wrong about this one (and i really don't think i am) I will eat my words. At the moment there is lots of back-and-forth about this person getting fired and that person not getting their payout but based on what I know about money and UFC - i have a prediction.
If you like MMA you were watching, if you don't like MMA you probably ended up hearing about it anyway much to your chagrin. However at the end it was a pretty good fight but it just ended in a way that well, i suppose we are meant to believe was not planned (I don't believe.)
In case you were in a cave here is what happened: After chocking Conor McGregor out in the 4th round, Khabib jumped over the octagon fence and attacked a teammate of McGregor's and chaos erupted in the ring after. If you were paying attention to the fight Khabib won handily, and had a strategy that was simply much better than McGregor's. Had it went the full 5 rounds, Khabib would have won at the hands of the judges and I think anyone who was watching would agree that it was a relatively one-sided affair.
Khabib is simply a much better fighter. Yet the controversy around the fight is that after the victory, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his crew were "guilty" of assaulting Conor's team. Dana White (the head of UFC) stated how upset he was about Khabib and then withheld his victory purse. He also later decided to fire Khabib's teammate who was involved in the fracas. Khabib then threatened to leave the UFC if his friend is fired, violating his contract with them.
I'm getting too long winded so i will give my prediction.
Khabib isn't going anywhere. There is entirely too much money wrapped up in this and the fact that we havent really heard much about it after it ended suggests to me that this is simply a build-up to a rematch, where we will all pile in like lemmings to watch it again despite the fact that it is entirely likely exactly the same thing will happen again. UFC will make 100 million, Conor will make three to four million and Khabib will also make three to four million and in the meantime the only real losers in the entire transaction will be us, the viewers.
You see, UFC is banking a LOT on the mouth on that Irish fella, and to get upset with an opponent of his for essentially doing what he does all the time would be absurd and that is why I think everyone has stopped talking about it. 50-Cent came out of the woodwork to offer Khabib 2 million to come over to Bellator, where he would truly be out of his element and surrounded by people that don't stand a chance against the undefeated Russian.
So, in summary here is what is going to happen and is my prediction
- Khabib is not leaving UFC, neither is his teammate, this will all happen quietly though
- Khabib will be paid his purse and probably some "hush" money on the side
- McGregor will STFU for a little while and then start running his mouth circa 4 months from now in order to promote the rematch
- Bellator will remain relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things