Throwback: When Conor McGregor pointed out illegal moves used by Islam Makhachev in KO win over Alexander Volkanovski

Conor McGregor once raised concerns about Islam Makhachev's alleged use of illegal strikes during his knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 last October.

'The Great' stepped in on less than two weeks' notice to replace Charles Oliveira for his second opportunity to dethrone Makhachev and become the UFC's next two-division champion.

While the featherweight titleholder displayed his prowess in their initial encounter at UFC 284 in February 2023, UFC 294 produced an entirely different result.

Makhachev displayed aggression right from the start, determined to conclusively end his rivalry with Volkanovski. This led to a fierce left head kick, causing a cut on the Aussie's brow and leaving him unsteady.

The reigning lightweight champion then proceeded to deliver ground-and-pound strikes, securing the victory just over three minutes into the first round.

While there were no disputes about the winner of the fight this time, some contended that there was controversy regarding the stoppage itself.

Certain follow-up shots from Makhachev appeared to come close to striking the back of Volkanovski's head, eliciting a reaction from 'The Notorious' on X.

McGregor shared a video that purportedly showed the Dagestani landing punches to the back of Volkanovski’s head during the final moments. The Irishman suggested that Makhachev should have faced a deduction of points:

"A difficult sport to ref. To stop that on a warning or a point deduction when Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] was essentially out already is a tricky one. But there would be grounds for it, 100%. Would have been nail biting stuff. I’d have loved to see it happen. Back of the head shots are not good."

Check out Conor McGregor's X post below (now deleted):

Credits: @TheNotoriousMMA on X (Courtesy of MMA Mania)

Volkanovski is set to defend his featherweight championship against Ilia Topuria in the headline bout of UFC 298. The second pay-per-view event of 2024 is slated for this weekend at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

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Alexander Volkanovski seeks to create UFC history with two championship defenses after a loss

During UFC 298 media day on Wednesday, a reporter pointed out that Alexander Volkanovski is one of just four fighters who had successfully defended their titles after a loss.

The journalist emphasized that if 'The Great' managed to secure a win on Saturday night, he would stand as the sole UFC fighter to achieve two consecutive successful title defenses following a defeat.

In response to the prospect of setting this record, Volkanovski replied:

"That's always a good story... there's gotta be adversities, you know what I mean? That's why this is the perfect fight coming off what happened. Everyone's seen me at my lowest. Now I get to bounce back and fight this undefeated prospect... It's beautiful. It's perfect."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (1:08):