Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz reportedly “slapped” Conor McGregor’s jiu-jitsu coach and good friend Dillon Danis at UFC 268.
The alleged incident happened backstage at Madison Square Garden with “multiple people” witnessing what unfolded.
Interestingly, though, it was Danis who was thrown out of the event – not Abdelaziz.
MMA Junkie journalist John Morgan was the first to report on the matter.
He tweeted: “Ali Abdelaziz slapped Dillon Danis backstage tonight at UFC 268 according to multiple people who witnessed the incident. Danis was then apparently removed from the building. Reached out to Ali Abdelaziz but he declined to comment.”
It seems neither person involved has made a public statement just yet, although when McGregor catches wind of it you can imagine he’ll be firing off tweets left, right and centre.
Interestingly, it was actually a similar incident which originally sparked the rivalry between the two camps.
A few years back, another of McGregor’s teammates got into an altercation with Khabib in a hotel hallway with Abdelaziz being present.
Footage emerged online of Russian-born fighter Artem Lobov getting slapped by Khabib ahead of UFC 223.
McGregor soon became aware of the incident and retaliated by hopping on a private jet and flying straight to New York where the event was being held.
He then gatecrashed the Barclays Center and attacked Khabib’s bus with a dolly in what has become one of the most infamous moments in mixed martial arts history.
The Irishman was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief as well as menacing and reckless endangerment.
Then, of course, their rivalry boiled over when the two finally met inside the octagon at UFC 229 – which everyone remembers for the chaos that ensued after Khabib had his hand raised.
Just a matter of moments after McGregor tapped, the Russian leapt out of the cage in – you guessed it – Dillon Danis’ direction.
It’s safe to say both Abdelaziz and Danis have been fairly involved with this ongoing beef between the two camps.
And if reports of this alleged slap are true, then more retaliation could be around the corner.
