"Dead rats in the swamp" - Conor McGregor remembers ugly UFC 229 brawl against Khabib Nurmagomedov and team

Conor McGregor was on top of the MMA world before October 6, 2018. While he was no longer the UFC lightweight champion, many still regarded him as the division's rightful ruler, as he had not been defeated inside the octagon for the belt. Instead, he was stripped due to inactivity.

His chance to regain the throne he had never lost in battle came at UFC 229 when he faced Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately, the Irishman suffered a crushing submission loss in round four. However, that was not the end, as the deeply personal trash talk he'd endured ahead of their bout still enraged his foe.

Everything from his inner circle to his religion was targeted by McGregor. So after he won, Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage and attacked Dillon Danis, one of Conor McGregor's cornermen. In doing so, he sparked an infamous brawl.

The Irishman then took to X (formerly Twitter) today (October 7) to recall the incident, writing:

"Dead rats in the swamp."

His remark refers to one of Nurmagomedov's cornermen, who had made his way into the cage to attack Conor McGregor himself, only for the Irishman to land the last blow of the brawl before security re-established order. Besides how personal things became, the matchup was also significant from a competitive standpoint.

As previously mentioned, McGregor was still widely hailed as the undisputed lightweight champion, as he had never been beaten for the belt. He had simply been stripped due to the time he had spent away from the octagon. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov was the newly crowned champion.

But Nurmagomedov needed to legitimize his title reign after capturing the vacant belt against an over-ranked Al Iaquinta, who had stepped in on short notice for Max Holloway, who had himself done the same for Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov's original opponent.

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Is Conor McGregor fighting at UFC 300?

Former three-time Bellator lightweight champion and UFC action fighter Michael Chandler recently spoke about the potential of fighting Conor McGregor at UFC 300.

The two were originally announced as opponents by the promotion back in February. However, an official fight date has never been announced.

This was due to McGregor's refusal to re-enter the USADA drug-testing pool. However, based on a recent Instagram post, he has re-entered the testing pool. If so, after the mandatory six-month waiting period, he will be eligible to compete at UFC 300.