'A fighter must control his emotions': Khabib says he's facing 1yr ban for McGregor brawl (VIDEO)

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says that he could be suspended for as long as a year as he waits to hear the punishment handed to him by the Nevada Athletic Commission for his part in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

Russian fighter Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor by fourth-round submission in the massively lucrative event last October, but some of the shine was taken from the victory by his actions immediately after the bout as he left the cage and attempted to attack members of McGregor's team.

Several of Nurmagomedov's entourage entered the cage during the melee, at least one of whom landed a blow to McGregor. Both fighters are now subject to an investigation by the Nevada Athletic Commission, the governmental body who oversees regulation of combat sports in the state.

Of course, speculation persists that the UFC will attempt to make an immediate rematch between the two rivals though at a recent speaking engagement in Australia, Nurmagomedov said that he cannot begin to plan for his next bout until he knows the severity of his punishment.

Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia is escorted out of the arena after defeating Conor McGregor of Ireland in their UFC lightweight championship bout during UFC 229 © Harry How / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

"I have court January 29th," Nurmagomedov said. "We'll see, maybe they're going to give me nine month or one year disqualification and if I don't fight all year I don't know what is going to be happening, who is going to be my next opponent."

The post-fight melee in Las Vegas was the culmination of a months-long and very public rivalry between the two fighters, which involved Nurmagomedov and several training partners confronting McGregor's training partner, Artem Lobov, backstage at a UFC event.

This prompted McGregor to fly from the Irish capital of Dublin to New York, culminating in the now infamous 'dolly' incident in Brooklyn, New York, last April. 

But as Nurmagomedov maintains, it was he who had the last laugh when both he and McGregor were face-to-face in the Octagon and that the Irishman had little for him outside of insults.

"To be a professional fighter you have to control your emotions but now you try to promote yourself, saying about me something and stay in the media, you know? This is his style, but when I meet him last time he ran away," he explained.

"When you got to the cage, if you talk about undefeated, I stay relaxed when I go to the cage. I think about only victory."