"You need to fight back" - When referee Herb Dean pep-talked Conor McGregor instead of saving him from Khabib Nurmagomedov's onslaught

Conor McGregor’s 2018 clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title remains one of, if not the biggest fights in the history of MMA.

The fight, which had been brewing for years, headlined UFC 229 on October 6 2018, and the event ended up drawing a record 2.4 million buys on pay-per-view.

The fight eventually ended in largely one-sided fashion, with Nurmagomedov submitting McGregor in the fourth round with a nasty neck crank.

‘The Eagle’ had dominated proceedings leading up to that point, abusing ‘The Notorious’ on the ground and even knocking him down with a right hand in the second round.

Perhaps more infamous was the aftermath of the fight, which saw Nurmagomedov leap over the octagon fence to attack McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, causing a wild brawl between both teams.

Forgotten in all of this is a moment in the fight that has recently resurfaced on Twitter.

In a clip seemingly taken from the one-sided second round of the fight, referee Herb Dean can be seen hovering over the action as Khabib hammers McGregor with brutal punches.

The video of this moment, posted to Twitter by user @AIKYGDLT, was accompanied by the following statement.

“Never forget when Khabib was laying such a brutal beat down on Conor that Herb Dean intervened saying ‘you need to fight back’.”

Indeed, the veteran referee can clearly be heard in the clip telling Conor McGregor that he needs to fight back, even adding a “come on!” at one point.

Of course, conspiracy theorists who have tried to claim that Dean was “coaching” the Irishman are largely mistaken.

Instead, as was pointed out by Twitter user @magwazam1, UFC officials regularly warn fighters that they need to fight back if they want a bout to continue without being stopped due to a lack of intelligent defense.

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Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: is their feud still ongoing?

Despite their bout taking place almost five years ago now, the bad blood between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov largely remains.

This may well be explained by the fact that the wild brawl that took place after their fight at UFC 229 prevented the hatchet from ever being buried, as both men were subsequently removed from the octagon.

In the years that have followed, the two rivals have continued to snipe at each other on social media, with the most recent slight coming from ‘The Notorious’.

He tweeted “dead enemies” in response to a question that asked:

“What is something that has massively improved your mental health?”

This inflammatory post came on the third anniversary of the death of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s father.

Conor McGregor has not fought since his 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, but has recently claimed on Twitter that he’s “well in preparation” for his return bout, which is expected to come against Michael Chandler.