The head of the UFC said that Usman Nurmagomedov "crossed the line" after his brother's fight.
On August 29, at the UFC tournament in Shanghai, Song Yadong defeated Umar Nurmagomedov, after which he
UFC president Dana White expressed his disapproval of Usman Nurmagomedov's behavior, saying he "crossed the line" by running into the Octagon after his brother Umar's defeat. The incident occurred on August 29 at UFC Fight Night 286 in Shanghai, where Nurmagomedov lost to Chinese fighter Sun Yadong.
At a press conference in Las Vegas, White, according to Yahoo Sports, stated: "He definitely crossed the line. I agree with that."
After Nurmagomedov suffered the second defeat of his career, losing to Sun Yadong via technical knockout in the second round, the Chinese fighter began celebrating his victory. While running around the Octagon, he collided with Nurmagomedov, who had rushed into the cage to check on his brother.
According to MMA Fighting, at the time, it appeared as if Usman Nurmagomedov was attempting to elbow Yadong. However, Usman himself later denied these allegations, explaining that his only goal was to quickly reach his brother and make sure he was okay. He stated, "If I wanted to hit him, I would have done it," calling his critics "evil and petty people" who don't understand the depth of family ties.
Song Yadong, for his part, has expressed no complaints against Usman Nurmagomedov. According to Yahoo Sports, the Chinese fighter suggested that Usman's reaction was reflexive, triggered by the thought of a possible attack on him.
"In slow motion, it looks like he's going to throw an elbow or something. But I understand everything; they're brothers. He just thought I was attacking him." "He jumped into the cage to check on his brother, and suddenly someone ran up," Sun Yadong commented.
30-year-old Umar Nurmagomedov now has a record of 20 wins and 2 losses. His previous loss was to Georgian Merab Dvalishvili in a title fight in January 2025.
28-year-old Sun Yadong has won 24 fights. His record also includes 9 losses, 1 draw, and 1 no-contest. In his previous fight at UFC Macau, Sun Yadong defeated Brazilian Deiveson Figueiredo via submission in the second round.