A brawl erupted at a weigh-in event on Oct. 5, for a Conor McGregor UFC match in Las Vegas.
McGregor and his challenger, Khabib Nurmagomedov, were up on stage in Vegas when a camera swerved around to capture a fight between two men in the audience.
The video shows one man punching another as the other tries to get away from him.
After several punches, the pair is separated by other audience members.
The weigh-in was tense, with some video footage showing McGregor and Numagomedov getting face-to-face on stage before UFC President Dana White and personnel kept them apart.
McGregor wants to fight NOW ???????????? pic.twitter.com/iFM81Fr5MQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 6, 2018
McGregor Fight
Nurmagomedov of Russia, the reigning lightweight titleholder, weighed in at 155 pounds, reported CBS. McGregor of Ireland, who is returning from a nearly two-year layoff, weighed in at 154.5 pounds.
The event they’re headlining, UFC 229, is slated for Oct. 6 at the T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor told reporters after a workout on Oct. 4 that he’s planning on winning.
“I’m going to have a proper fight. I’m going to come out there fast. I don’t give an [expletive] about anything—any wrestling, any technique—anything,” he said, according to the Telegraph.
“It will be a devastating KO. Nurmagomedov is too easy to hit, too flat-footed, too predictable, I’m going to knock him clean out,” he said.
It's still pretty remarkable to me that MMA, and in this case, the biggest star in the sport, Conor McGregor, is able to bring droves of people together and pack an arena just for a weigh-in. #UFC229
???? @jhedges_photo pic.twitter.com/KVhefbr8JB— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) October 6, 2018
Khabib Nurmagomedov is 26-0. He’s the reigning UFC Lightweight champ. He’s favored against Conor McGregor.
But who is he? https://t.co/qUrGK0Wtn8 pic.twitter.com/SNR3Sl5PsQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 4, 2018
Record Numbers Predicted
UFC relies heavily on pay-per-view, and White said he predicts record viewing numbers.
White told Yahoo Sports that he believes there will be 3 million pay-per-view (PPV) sales. Many who buy the PPV invite friends and family over to watch the matches.
“Conor has such a massive fan base that it’s hard to move the number that much, so the increase we’ve seen from him is incredible,” White said.
“Khabib, man, his audience is eating it all up. … He’s Muslim and he’s Russian and he’s hitting two huge audiences we haven’t really gotten a lot previously. He’s hit the big time now and his fans are totally into it.”
White added, “The gate is going to be $17 million. There are going to be celebrities like you’ve never seen. I knew this was going to be massive, but it’s even blowing me away what this is doing.”
Video Credit: Shaheen Al-Shatti via Storyful
