Conor McGregor surprisingly praises Nate Diaz for slapping Irishman's former training partner Dillon Danis' friend in the aftermath of UFC 281

Nate Diaz slapped a friend of Conor McGregor's training partner Dillon Danis after UFC 281 on Saturday night. Diaz was caught on camera as he was separated from McGregor's former training partner Danis and a few others outside Madison Square Garden.

Paradigm Sports founder Audie Attar attempted to de-escalate the situation. The Stockton native seemingly responded well to Attar's pleas. However, one of Danis' companions continued chirping at Diaz, which provoked the former UFC fighter.

Check out the footage below:

McGregor is known to be very protective of his teammates. He even staged an infamous attack on Khabib Nurmagomedov's bus to avenge his friend Artem Lobov.

However, 'The Notorious' seemingly got a kick out of seeing his rival slap Danis' friend. In a now-deleted tweet, McGregor shared the video along with the caption:

"Haha nice shot"

Check out the tweet below:

Conor McGregor reacts to Nate Diaz slapping Dillon Danis' friend

It’s unclear what sparked the altercation during Saturday night's UFC event. Neither Diaz nor Danis have commented on the issue.

The UFC legend was recently in the headlines for a similar reason. Diaz and his crew were involved in a physical altercation with Jake Paul’s team before the YouTuber's fight against Anderson Silva last month in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Conor McGregor congratulates Nate Diaz, hints at trilogy outside the UFC

Nate Diaz received an outpouring of support after he successfully won his final UFC bout against Tony Ferguson.

Surprisingly, Diaz's bitter rival Conor McGregor was among his well-wishers. 'The Notorious' took to Twitter to congratulate Diaz for fulfilling his contractual obligation to the UFC. McGregor added that he'll be seeing Diaz down the road to complete their long-anticipated trilogy:

"Congrats Nate Diaz on making it to the end of his contractual obligations with the UFC, and as a bonafide superstar goer. An incredible feat. Fair play. Our trilogy will happen."

Check out Conor McGregor's message below:

The pair of MMA superstars fought twice back in 2016. Diaz upset McGregor with a submission in their initial encounter, while McGregor avenged his loss via a majority decision later that year.