Nevada Commission fined Conor McGregor after UFC 229 to avoid lawsuit, says Chael Sonnen

Conor McGregor was slapped with an extended suspension for his role in the horrific scenes that ensued after the grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. It concluded with brawls breaking out in the audience. Chael Sonnen recently revisited the infamous incident and provided a new perspective that showed the Nevada Commission was acting in its own best interest when it fined McGregor.

After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round of UFC 229, the Russian leaped out of the cage and attempted to attack the Irishman's cornerman, Dillon Danis. McGregor jumped into action and traded blows with the Dagestani team. Both entourages traded blows before being separated by security. McGregor was fined $50,000 and received a six-month suspension for his involvement.

The way Sonnen sees it, the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the governing body for UFC 229, failed to fulfill their core obligation to safeguard an athlete inside the cage. According to Sonnen, Conor McGregor was penalized by the commission in order to avoid public exposure and possible litigation.

Speaking about the famous adage that has been applied to many fields of athletic endeavor, "The best defense is a good offense," Sonnen stated:

"One of my all-time favorites was what Nevada pulled on Conor McGregor the day that team Khabib jumped the cage and attacked Conor. They fined Conor.... Now the commission doesn't have a whole bunch of jobs, but they damn sure have one, which is to keep the fighters safe. Conor was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing. The apparatus that was supposed to be secured failed to be secured and they went after Conor. It was absolutely brilliant."

Sonnen further referenced an anecdote from his collegiate wrestling days, where one coach attacked a seventeen-year-old student, but the head-coach diffused the situation in a similar manner:

"The same concept is what happened to Conor McGregor. They have a job to keep him safe....they failed. They now have exposure, so they went after Conor and Conor wrote them a cheque."

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Sean O'Malley revisits the grudge match between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov

The rivalry between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will be remembered as one of the most bitter in UFC history.

The animosity manifested itself in the actual bout, and Nurmagomedov's fourth-round submission win was insufficient to end the feud. The T-Mobile Arena was engulfed in chaos after 'The Eagle' leapt the cage to attack Dillon Danis.

Sean O'Malley recently recalled on his YouTube channel the moment when Nurmagomedov jumped the cage to attack McGregor's team:

"One of the most gangster [moments] was when Khabib jumped the fence....He gets done choking Conor, the referee literally had to peel his hands apart, he gets up and finds Dillon Danis, yelling at him....climed the cage and jumped at him. That's gangster!"

Catch O'Malley's comments below: