Conor McGregor may well have thrown the first punch in last night’s appalling brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team members.

At first glance, it seemed the defeated Irish star was attacked by Zubaira Tukhugov and Islam Makhachev following his fourth-round loss.

But footage now appears to show Notorious kicking it all off with a swift punch as the melee first got going. McGregor could have pressed charges but declined — which makes sense, if he punched first.

Dana White had earlier said Khabib’s team may be banned for life for their part in the brawl.

Following the outrageous scenes, White said: “The guys who jumped in will never fight here again. I’ve been working hard to promote this sport, this is not what a mixed martial arts event is normally like.”

Tukhugov and Makhachev jumped into the octagon following Khabib’s fourth-round win and rained down a series of blows on the defeated Irishman.

Nurmagomedov beat McGregor by submission in the fourth round before jumping out of the octagon and unleashing a vicious attack on McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis.

The chaos ensued in the front rows of the crowd as a number of people entered the octagon in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

As security stepped in to protect McGregor, another man went for him.

White and many others piled into the octagon to try to restore some order — with the UFC president refusing to hand the champion his belt in anger.

Khabib had produced a fantastic performance to beat McGregor, who tapped out in the fourth round of their UFC 229 showdown.

White said: “Three of Khabib’s guys have been arrested and are on the way to jail now.

“I know if we put the belt on [Khabib] in the octagon there’ll be things thrown. I just said let’s just try and get him out of here.

“Both men made it clear that the rivalry would not be over after the fight, but I definitely didn’t see Khabib jumping over the fence after the fight.

“Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold were great in diffusing things.”