The return to action of Conor McGregor, arguably the most famous professional fighter in the world, descended into a tawdry farce on Saturday night in Las Vegas as brawls broke out at the end of his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov taps out Conor McGregor then sparks melee in crowd Read more

McGregor, whose mixed martial arts skills and flamboyant personality have helped turn the Ultimate Fighting Championship into a multibillion‑dollar business, was returning to the octagon for the first time in nearly two years and his lightweight fight with Russia’s Nurmagomedov was highly anticipated. But it soon became obvious the Irishman was no match for his opponent, and McGregor tapped out of the fight in submission in the fourth round. The night then turned ugly.

Nurmagomedov jumped into the crowd and brawled with Dillon Danis, one of McGregor’s coaches. Several men – thought to be Nurmagomedov’s training partners – then entered the cage and began attacking McGregor.

Nurmagomedov later apologised for the post-fight events. “First of all I want to say sorry to Nevada Athletic Commission and second to Vegas,” he said. “I know this is not my best side. I’m a human being.”

The 30-year-old said he had been provoked by McGregor’s behaviour leading up to the fight, which had led some to express concern that the event could turn into a sideshow.

In April, McGregor gatecrashed a Nurmagomedov press conference in New York and threw a handcart through the window of a bus carrying other UFC fighters, leaving some of them with cuts to their faces (McGregor later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct). The Irishman raised tensions further by making negative references to Nurmagomedov’s Muslim faith.

“I don’t understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage,” Nurmagomedov said. “He talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father. He came to Brooklyn and he broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people. What about this shit? Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don’t understand. This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport. I want to change the game, you cannot talk about religion, about nationality.”

The UFC president, Dana White, said Nurmagomedov’s purse was being held back by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Three members of the Russian’s team were also released by authorities after McGregor declined to press charges. “Khabib diving into the crowd was ridiculous,” White told ESPN after the fight. “You know, you just won a great fight, you fought brilliantly, you’re about to get the belt on and people are going to respect the fact that you fought well and you won the fight. And instead, you dive over the cage and start this huge melee with Conor’s corner.

“I actually didn’t allow [Nurmagomedov] to get the belt put on because I knew what was going to happen when we did it was people were going to throw whatever they had into the octagon, so let’s just get him out of here. Sure enough, as soon as they started going through the tunnel, exactly what I knew was gonna happen. I was like, ‘We’ll be lucky enough just to get him out of here without the belt’.” White would not confirm whether Nurmagomedov would be stripped of his UFC lightweight title. “It’s not 100% certain,” he said. “We’re regulated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They’re going to go after Khabib. The governor was here and he ran out of the building. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to hand out some type of fine, suspension or whatever. If he gets suspended, it depends how long his suspension is.”

UFC 229: Khabib Nurmagomedov taps out Conor McGregor – in pictures Read more

The UFC has suffered in the absence of McGregor, who made tens of millions of dollars from a boxing fight with former world champion Floyd Mayweather last year. The promotion has also been hit after its other biggest star, Ronda Rousey, left to embark on a professional wrestling career.

“I’ve been doing this for 18 years and I couldn’t be more disappointed,” White said. “I should be in here bragging about the pay-per-view but I haven’t even looked at that or talked about it with anybody. We should all be celebrating how when you put on the right event with the right guys at the right time, it works. It was a very good week for everybody. It just sucks to end it like this, instead of celebrating we’re saying ‘that was pretty shit’.”

The former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson said that Saturday’s events were even more dismal than his 1997 title fight with Evander Holyfield, in which he bit off a chunk of his opponent’s ear. “Unimaginable never thought it would go down like this,” Tyson wrote on Twitter. “Crazier than my fight riot.”

One man who did not seem disturbed by the night’s events was McGregor. With one eye, perhaps, on his bank balance he said he would be happy to fight Nurmagomedov again. “Good knock,” he wrote on Twitter. “Looking forward to the rematch.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Conor McGregor following defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Photograph: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images