Khabib Withdraws from UFC 249, Is UFC 229 to Blame?

Wow. Two times we get hit with an April Fool’s cancellation of Tony/Khabib. Good news for all is Conor fans, there will be no dollies going through bus windows at media day with the on-going coronavirus.

Unfortunately, this is the 5th, yes FIFTH time the fight has been called-off in what could only be described as the most cursed fight in combat sports history. A fight that was scheduled back in January was called-off because of a pandemic - this is somehow real life.

Now there was some hope this morning - reports came out that Khabib was going to be allowed to fly out on a private plane by the Russian Air Transport Agency. Those hopes were shot down by Khabib in some long bullshit IG post (written by his sleaze-bag manger Ali, as is evident by him referring to Khalabeeb in 3rd person). So it seems all hope is lost for the April 18th card, but let’s not forget, UFC 229 might be much to blame.....

If you remember back to October of 2018 - Conor and Khabib we’re going to finally settle their beff in the octagon (refer back to the bus incident). Conor came in off a Jon Jones like bender and was dominated via a 4th round submission. But, that is besides the point. The real point is about what happened after that fight. When Khabib went Donkey Kong foot smash flying out of the octagon after Conor’s cornerman, Dillon Danis. This incident resulted in fines, suspensions, and Khabib being at odds with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

So what does this have to do with UFC 249?

Well, after the NSAC hearings, Khabib was so angry with the punishments and suspensions handed out, that he vowed to never fight in Nevada again. This is significant considering Las Vegas was the host for UFC 248 back on March 7th (aren’t you glad we got to see Romero/Stylebender instead?). The fight had been scheduled all the way back in November 2019 (which should have been a clue something was going to go wrong). Outside of the weight cut, the fight most likely would have gone on as scheduled. Instead, we now have rewatch Tiger King and hope Dana can find some remote island to build a makeshift octagon.

Fuck you 2020.