Islam Makhachev Attacked Dillon Danis at UFC 229 Brawl

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Evidence has surfaced that Dagestani fighter Islam Makhachev may in fact have been involved in the UFC 229 brawl sparked by his fellow Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 6.

To recap, the Khabib team members who had earlier been clearly confirmed through video to have participated in the post-fight violence are:

  • the gray-suited Rizvan who hit Dillon Danis several times
  • the black-shirted Abubakr whom Conor McGregor swung at while trying to climb out of the cage
  • the black-shirted Zubaira who tried to punch McGregor face-to-face
  • the red-shirted Esadullah who hit McGregor on the back of the head

In the weeks immediately after the fight, the prevailing wisdom was that Khabib’s close associate Islam Makhachev tripped in the crowd and was unable to join in the brawl. In the past 24 hours, however, a Twitter user with the handle @NonlinearHorse posted images and a video clip evidencing that Islam Makhachev was active in the melee and even managed to hit Danis on the back of the head.

Islam Makhachev suspension?

 
The Nevada Athletic State Commission (NSAC) and the office of the state’s Attorney General, who are in charge of reviewing the evidence, may have access to additional video footage that can give more clarity to the situation.

The latest surge in news about Makhachev was sparked by a poster that UFC Russia posted to their official accounts on Twitter and Instagram. The poster shows what purported to be an impending fight between Makhachev and Francisco Trinaldo at UFC 233 in Anaheim on January 26.

UFC 233 poster Russian

Curiously, Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately commented on UFC Russia’s Instagram post that the news was not true and prompted UFC Russia to delete the poster image, which they immediately did from both their Twitter and Instagram accounts. Makhachev also responded to Russian-language inquiries that he was shocked upon seeing the poster and that there was no truth to the match.

Also strange is the fact that UFC president Dana White had said that those involved in the brawl would never fight in his league again.