"The guys who jumped in will never fight here" - When Dana White blacklisted Islam Makhachev from UFC for attack on Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor has had several high-profile rivals throughout his MMA run. Initially, it was Nate Diaz, who first emerged as the Irishman's chief nemesis after beating him at UFC 196. His second great rival is undoubtedly Dustin Poirier, who avenged an earlier loss with two back-to-back wins over 'The Notorious'.

However, there is no greater feud in Conor McGregor's career than the one he had, and still does, with legendary lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. Back in 2018, the two men headlined the most successful pay-per-view in MMA history. UFC 229 sold a record-setting 2.4 million pay-per-view buys.

Despite the spectacle of the event and the magnitude of the pair's fight, it was marred by an ugly brawl after Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round. This nearly led to future UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and fellow lightweight Zubaira Tukhugov being permanently barred from the UFC.

For context, Khabib Nurmagomedov had scaled the fence after beating the Irishman. Alongside Makhachev, Nurmagomedov targeted McGregor's corner, and specifically attacked Dillon Danis, one of the Irishman's Brazilian jiu-jitsu coaches at the time.

Meanwhile, inside the octagon, another melee broke out. Conor McGregor punched Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Khabib's cousin and cornerman, while the Dagestani welterweight was trying to exit the cage. This caused Asadullah Emiragaev and Zubaira Tukhugov to enter the cage and attack the Irishman.

In the aftermath of the brawl, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that everyone involved in the brawl, besides McGregor and Nurmagomedov, would be permanently barred from fighting in the UFC.

"The guys who jumped in will never fight here… Listen, I’ve been working hard for 18 years to build this sport… I can promise you, this is not what a mixed martial arts event is normally like.”

Check out the video below (3:09):

However, Nurmagomedov threatened to leave the UFC if the ban was upheld.

This protest caused the promotion to reverse its decision to ban the likes of Makhachev, who went on to capture the UFC lightweight title.

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Why didn't Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have a rematch?

In the aftermath of his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor campaigned for a rematch. Unfortunately for him, the rematch never took place, as Nurmagomedov was uninterested in immediately running their fight back. This forced McGregor to try and build a win streak to earn a crack at the title.

However, after defeating Donald Cerrone in a bout he hoped would get him close to title contention, McGregor was stunned by news of Nurmagomedov's early retirement after the death of 'The Eagle's' father. A subsequent loss to Dustin Poirier erased any lingering intrigue that 'The Eagle' may have had in a rematch.

He stuck to his retirement and never welcomed another bout with McGregor.