Khabib Nurmagomedov's early UFC contract gets leaked in ongoing antitrust lawsuit

Khabib Nurmagomedov has seemingly been brought into the long-running antitrust lawsuit against the UFC. Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) is a former UFC lightweight champion.

The Dagestan native retired from MMA in October 2020. 'The Eagle's' retirement was primarily due to his father and longtime coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passing away in July 2020.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has consistently maintained that he won't ever return to professional MMA competition. Regardless, he continues to train with his teammates, such as reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

While 'The Eagle' has distanced himself from the MMA realm, the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC appears to have brought him back into the spotlight.

The UFC has reportedly renewed its motion for summary judgment in the antitrust lawsuit brought against the organization by former UFC middleweight Cung Le. One of the exhibits in the case is Nurmagomedov's UFC contract.

The lawsuit was initiated by Cung Le while the latter was an active part of the UFC roster back in 2014. Le, an American MMA and kickboxing veteran of Vietnamese descent, was suspended from the UFC owing to reportedly testing positive for HGH in relation to his middleweight bout against Michael Bisping in 2014.

Nevertheless, the lab that tested Le's samples wasn't approved by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), didn't conduct a proper HGH test, and destroyed Le's blood sample before further confirmatory tests could be carried out.

Cung Le subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC in 2014, with several other UFC fighters like Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry joining in. They've accused the UFC of anticompetitive practices that hinder fighters' careers. Should they win the case, they'd likely secure millions of dollars in compensation from the UFC.

Furthermore, the "@SpinninBackfist" Twitter (X) account has now highlighted that a contract that Khabib Nurmagomedov signed early in his UFC career has been made public as part of the legal battle.

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A closer look at Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC contract

Khabib Nurmagomedov made his UFC debut in January 2012. The "@SpinninBackfist" Twitter (X) account posted multiple tweets addressing Nurmagomedov's UFC contract details that have been disclosed amid the ongoing legal battle.

One of the tweets indicated that 'The Eagle' received a pay of $160,000, including a $80,000 win bonus. This was for beating Edson Barboza, who earned $75,000 in their fight in 2017.

The Edson Barboza fight was a part of Khabib Nurmagomedov's second UFC deal that he signed in December 2013. This contract was active from Nurmagomedov's fight against Rafael dos Anjos in April 2014 to the Barboza clash in December 2017.

'The Eagle' later bagged bigger paydays, including a $2 million paycheck against Conor McGregor in 2018. The "@SpinninBackfist" Twitter (X) account noted the following concerning Nurmagomedov's UFC contract:

"this was signed in Dec 2013, so his second deal with UFC. this deal ran from RDA - Barboza fights. he got 21/21 , 24/24 , 27/27 , 30/30 during that four fight stretch. two fights later he fought Conor, for a disclosed $2 million base pay."