Last week, Usman Nurmagomedov’s emotions got the better of him at UFC Shanghai. His older brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, suffered the first knockout loss of his career against Song Yadong in the second round of their main event bout, prompting an emotionally charged Usman to hop the cage. Though the PFL lightweight champion was clearly overwhelmed after seeing his brother knocked out, in hopping over the cage, Usman ended up violating one of MMA’s long-established rules that prohibit cornermen from entering the cage before being given the official nod.

Following that incident, many wanted to know what Dana White thought about the tumultuous night in Shanghai. Finally, a reporter asked the UFC CEO about his thoughts at the Contender Series press conference. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t a fan of Usman’s reaction.

“Yeah, what do you mean by how he reacted?” White said. “He definitely did (cross a line)… I would agree with that.”

Though Dana White’s reaction didn’t carry much anger, his disapproval of Usman’s actions was clear. Under the Unified Rules of MMA, a corner is not permitted to attend to their fighter unless a commission official opens the cage door for them. The PFL lightweight champion violated that rule when he jumped the cage to tend to his unconscious brother.

Unlike the athletic commissions in the United States, China doesn’t have its own government body to regulate the event, so the UFC used its in-house governance for the Shanghai event. Naturally, Dana White didn’t want any mishaps to occur at such a major spectacle. Hence, he felt Usman had crossed a line.

As of now, it’s not clear whether the UFC would actually punish Usman for his actions. However, the PFL lightweight champion would be spared from the wrath of the state athletic commissions since the event took place in Shanghai. While the 28-year-old has been facing scrutiny from the MMA world, Song Yadong also reacted to nearly getting elbowed in the face by Usman.

The Chinese bantamweight was actually considerate of Usman’s actions and defended the PFL lightweight champion, recognizing that he was highly emotional after Umar was knocked out.

“But watching the slow motion, it looked like he was turning around to throw an elbow or something,” Song Yadong stated. “But actually, I understand because they are brothers, you know.”

Despite this, the wave of backlash toward the Dagestani continues to grow, with a former UFC champion demanding that the undefeated fighter face consequences for nearly overshadowing a remarkable night in Shanghai.

Chris Weidman believes Usman Nurmagomedov should face “trouble” for UFC Shanghai controversy

The number of watchful eyes on Usman Nurmagomedov is growing rapidly after he violated the rules in Shanghai. And while the UFC CEO clarified his thoughts on the PFL champion’s actions, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman also shared his criticism of the Dagestani, believing that the commission should take action against him.

“He should be in trouble, 100 percent, from the commission for jumping the cage and acting like that,” Weidman said on Paramount+’s Deep Waters podcast. “If we have cornermen jumping into the octagon, it’s not good… He shouldn’t have been there.”

But that’s not the only criticism Weidman had for Usman Nurmagomedov. He also pointed out that the theme has been pretty recurring for the PFL champion when it comes to hopping over the cage.

“It’s something he’s done before,” Weidman added. “When… he won, he immediately jumped the cage, so that can’t be allowed. You can’t just have people jumping in the cage every time you win or lose.”

Here, Weidman was referring to Usman Nurmagomedov jumping the cage after Islam Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in Newark.

After four thrilling rounds of action, Makhachev finally submitted the Louisiana native in the fifth round, and Usman hopped the cage to celebrate his teammate’s victory without waiting for an official to open the cage door. For breaking the rule, security escorted the PFL champion out of the venue, but he didn’t face any suspension.

With that in mind, if the Dagestani lightweight had broken the rule in the United States, he could have faced a suspension. However, since the fight happened outside the country’s jurisdiction, it remains to be seen whether an athletic commission will eventually intervene, as Weidman wants, or whether Usman will once again avoid punishment.