White Downplays Khamzat’s Scuffle: ‘It Doesn’t Bother Me’

Khamzat Chimaev got into a cageside scuffle with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team earlier today (Sat., Oct. 22, 2022) at UFC 280 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White doesn’t seem all too concerned.

Chimaev, who showed up during the “Prelims” undercard to watch the fights live, came face-to-face with Abubakar Nurmagomedov following the conclusion of Islam Makhachev’s main event submission win over Charles Oliveira. “Borz” and Nurmagomedov looked to be exchanging pleasantries before a handshake turned into a shove by Chimaev. Luckily, security and team members were close by to calm the two parties down and prevent any further violence.

During UFC 280’s post-fight press conference (replay HERE), White was asked about Chimaev’s post-event altercation and didn’t seem too bothered by the incident. He simply chalked it up to Khamzat being Khamzat.

“What do I even say about that?” said White. “It happens, especially with [Khamzat]. It happens.”

White also explained why Chimaev wasn’t sitting in the typical section dedicated for UFC fighters.

“He was sitting on our side,” White explained. “I didn’t even know Khamzat was coming tonight. He was invited here by Abu Dhabi. So the seats behind me here in Abu Dhabi are owned by Abu Dhabi.”

Later on in the post-fight press conference, White was asked if there would be any sanctions handed out to Chimaev and the other fighters involved. Surprisingly, White downplayed the severity of the situation and believes these incidents are par for the course when running a MMA promotion.

“That’s what we do here — that’s what we do,” White explained. “This is a rough business. Mean things are said, sometimes guys get into it. It’s our job at UFC to make sure that kind of stuff doesn’t happen. We weren’t right on it and [couldn’t] stop it from happening, but we got in there. These things happen. When you get 800 alpha males and females under contract, sometimes they cross paths at events and these things happen. It doesn’t bother me or hurt my feelings or any of that stuff. We handle it then we move on.”

Do you agree with White? Should Chimaev get punished for his UFC 280 antics or walk away like nothing ever happened?

Sound off!

For complete UFC 280 results and coverage click here.