Nate Diaz Asks UFC To Be Fired, Chael Sonnen On Conor McGregor - Khabib Incident, Bellator 207 Video
- Ahead of Friday night's Bellator 207 event, check out the second episode of Bellator 207: Countdown in the video above. The series highlights the main event fight between Ryan Bader and Matt Mitrione, following the two in the days leading up to their fight.
Bader and Mitrione compete in one semifinal of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix live on Paramount Network. The winner advances to the finals where they will meet either Chael Sonnen or Fedor Emelianenko.
- Chael Sonnen, who meets Fedor Emelianenko Saturday night at Bellator 208, was on-hand last week to see UFC 229 as an analyst for ESPN's coverage. Sonnen, who has had plenty of interesting events himself while a fighter, talked to MMA Fighting about the incident between Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
"Conor McGregor, who I'm not a defender of, was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do," Sonnen said. "He was a licensed fighter following the unified rule which says in front of everything else, you protect yourself at all times. He gets up on that cage and is confronted by somebody who is not licensed to be there and is not supposed to be there. He's not doing what he's supposed to do and a melee has broken out.
"Conor had every reasonable right to throw at him and that did not start the fight. Khabib had flown over the Octagon and thrown a jumping kick into Dillon Danis. So (to say McGregor started it) your facts are wrong. It's factually incorrect."
Both Nurmagomedov and McGregor have been temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for their involvement. A hearing to determine any further punishment will be held later this month.
"The unified rules state, 'You protect yourself at all times,'" Sonnen added. "Conor was where he was supposed to be, protecting himself against somebody who had come in to do him harm. That's the reality."
- Nate Diaz, who has claimed to want a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, also now wants to be fired – again. Diaz posted a response to Nurmagomedov's message about leaving the UFC if his teammate is released for his role in the UFC 229 incident involving Conor McGregor.
@danawhite please let kabobs dumbass friend stay in @ufc
Fire me it will be bettter this way.
I think it's more fair that way ...— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) October 11, 2018