‘I could smell him a mile away’: McGregor trolls Khabib & team after UFC 229 brawl suspensions

Irish MMA megastar Conor McGregor has reignited his war of words on Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team, less than 24 hours after the pair were handed suspensions over the mass brawl that broke out at their UFC 229 grudge match.

On Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) slapped Nurmagomedov with a backdated nine-month suspension and a $500,000 fine – a quarter of his $2 million fight purse – for sparking the brawl at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in October, while the Irishman was handed a $50,000 fine and six-month ban for his role in the fracas.

McGregor took to social media to respond to the news, saying he was “thankful” to the NSAC for its “fair assessment” in handling the case - but not missing the opportunity to land some verbal jabs on Nurmagomedov and his team.

“It was not my intention to land the final blow of the night on my opponent’s blood relative. It’s just how it played out,” 'The Notorious' added in a cheeky dig over the punch-up that followed his fourth-round submission defeat. 

McGregor clashed with Khabib teammates Abubakar Nurmagomedov – Khabib’s cousin – and Zubaira Tukhugov after the Russian lightweight king had vaulted the cage to launch himself at the Irishman's teammate Dillon Danis.

READ MORE: Conor McGregor gets 6-month suspension, fined $50k for his role in UFC 229 chaos

McGregor posted a picture of himself clashing with Abubakar Nurmagomedov in the cage, breaking down the blow he landed on the Dagestani MMA fighter.

“Straight left hand inside the attackers jab. He attempted to use the big security guard that’s in all the movies as cover, but I could smell him a mile away and landed flush down the pipe.

“The final blow of the night UFC 229 in association with McGregor Sports and Entertainment,” the Irishman wrote with characteristic impudence.

Abubakar, 29, famously took to social media shortly after the brawl with his own version of events, saying: "That Irish b**** hit me. But I didn’t hold back either. Bam, boom! – I gave [him] two. 

"The papakha prevented [me], there was a papakha in my left hand,” he added, referring to the traditional headgear donned by Khabib and his team, and which Abubakar can be seen holding in the snaps posted by McGregor.    

Khabib Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, reacted to the news of his suspension in typically laconic fashion, simply posting “politics forever” on social media and later a picture of himself lying down, saying: “wake me up when it’s all over.”

The 30-year-old Russian’s ban could be reduced to six months, should he take part in an anti-bullying campaign.

However, Nurmagomedov has reportedly vowed never to fight in Nevada again, and not until teammates Abubakar and Tukhugov – who were both banned for one year and fined $25,000 over their roles in the brawl – have served their suspensions. 

'The Eagle' is said to be targeting a November return at New York’s fabled Madison Square Garden.

There has been widespread speculation that McGregor, 30, will next step into the Octagon against 35-year-old American lightweight Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.