In October last year, the UFC 229 event, which saw Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov facing off, quickly turned to chaos. After the Russian fighter attained his victory, you would have thought the violence would be over - but rising tensions from behind the scenes led to an all-out brawl between Khabib's team and members of McGregor's entourage.

Khaib himself jumped into the crowd, trying to attack one of his opponent's teammates, while three of his own team stormed the octagon to go after a battle-weary McGregor. Khabib later claimed this originated from insulting comments made about his family, country and religion, apologising to the UFC but insisting he had good reason for his actions.

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“First of all I want to say sorry to Nevada Athletic Commission and second to Vegas," Nurmagomedov said.

"I know this is not my best side. I’m a human being. But I don’t understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage. He talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father.

“He came to Brooklyn and he broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people. What about this sh*t? Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don’t understand. This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport.”

Following the spectacle, both sportsmen faced punishment for their actions. Nurmagomedov was banned for nine months and was fined $500,000.

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Meanwhile, McGregor has been given six months suspension from the UFC, and was met with a $50,000 fine. Now that the assessment has come through, the Irishman took to Twitter to thank the Nevada Athletic Commissions for their "fair assessment," but seeing as this is McGregor we're talking about, it didn't end there.

"I am thankful for the Nevada Athletic Commission's fair assessment and handling of the brawl incident," he initially said. "It was not my intention to land the final blow of the night on my opponent's blood relative. I look forward to competing again soon."

In a follow-up message about the infamous incident, McGregor shared two photos of him from the night. In one he is evading a hit from a member of Khabib's team, and in the other he is landing one of his own.

"Straight left hand inside the attackers jab. He attempted to use the big security guard that's in all the movies as cover, but I could smell him a mile away and landed flush down the pipe.

"The final blow of the night at UFC 229 in association with McGregor Sports and Entertainment."

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Both suspensions have been backdated to the date of the Las Vegas fight, which occurred on October 6 last year. Nurmagomedov's suspension may be reduced from nine to six months if he agrees to participate in an anti-bullying campaign in Nevada, reportedly.

Two of Khabib's team have also been given suspensions by the same commission, with Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov being banned for one year, with fines of $25,000.

After all the build-up to the showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor at UFC 229 last week, all the post-match talk hasn't even been about Khabib's victory, but what happened immediate afterward.

Khabib jumped into the crowd, apparently targeting McGregor's training partner Dillon Danis, who he claims had insulted him in the road to the fight. In addition to this, three of the Russian's teammates charged the octagon, attacking McGregor. Following this chaotic incident, Khabib defended his reasoning for resorting to violence, but apologised for what happened.

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However, the UFC fighter has also leapt to the defence of his teammate Zubaira Tukhugov, one of the men who went for McGregor. All three men were arrested, but McGregor chose not to press charges.

UFC President Dana White said at the time that he didn't want to see any of the three who attacked McGregor work in the UFC ever again, a claim which angered Khabib. On Instagram, he wrote:

"Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?

"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started.

He then went on to insist that he would leave the UFC if Tukhugov is banned from the organisation, stating that he would stand by his "brother".

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Following the fight, McGregor received his earnings as usual, but Khabib has had his $2 million withheld by the UFC President, until the Nevada State Athletic Commission completes their investigation into what happened. NSAC executive director Bob Bennett confirmed to MMA Junkie that a "comprehensive investigation" was currently taking place, and now we may know at least part of the punishment.

According to ESPN, Bennett has now made a decision on the matter, choosing to temporarily suspend both McGregor and Nurmagomedov.

The fact that McGregor is implicated may give credence to Khabib's assertion that he threw the first punch that night. A hearing will take place on October 24 to determine whether they should be indefinitely suspended, after the matter is further investigated.

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However, White believes that the suspension for Khabib shouldn't go too far. In an interview with TMZ Sports, he said:

"They took his whole purse right now and they're talking about keeping his purse - I do not think that that should happen, you should not be able to keep his whole purse.

"I think they should take $250,000 from him. [He] absolutely keeps his title. And he's going to get suspended, so maybe you give him a four to six months suspension."

We won't know until October 24 what the extent of the punishment will be for both Nurmagomedov and McGregor - but either way, they won't be working for the UFC for at least a few months.

MMA fighter Conor McGregor has dramatically announced his return to the Octagon, a mere nine days after saying he'd retired from MMA.

Following the Irishman's fight, loss and subsequent brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor was banned from fighting for around six months, but appeared to have quit the sport for good. Yet on his Twitter page, McGregor sent his 7.6 million followers a very simple message: he's back.

"I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds. All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all ❤️Now see you in the Octagon."

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Some of those 7.6 million followers were really happy to have McGregor - also known as The Notorious - back in the Octagon. "The king is back," said @SVanadestine, but others were a little more cynical of the announcement, considering how long he had been 'retired', as well as his comments made at his previous opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"YOU ARE EMBARRASSING," said @PeakWxzza, alongside an image of McGregor losing to Khabib last October, while @ellllva remarked: "I like how nobody took his retirement comment seriously lolll [sic]." But a lot of people are still upset over McGregor's Islamophobic remarks he made earlier this week.

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McGregor's return announcement was weaved into an apparent apology for a tweet he earlier made about Khabib's wife, referring to her traditional wedding dress and describing the Muslim fighter's wife as "a towel". Khabib did not himself comment on the tweet, but the Russian fighter's agent Ali Abdelaziz hit back at the 30-year-old, describing McGregor as a "rapist".

"Talking s**t, this guy is insulting someone’s wife and making fun of her religion and belief. He doesn’t realize he’s insulting 1.5 billon Muslims. Religion and family is a no no. You’re f**ked Connor, let’s see what the media is going to say now. He’s a rapist, and a bitch."

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@Crypto_entropy was quick to bring this up, following McGregor's apology and announcement: "Yet you s**t on a man's wife who was in her traditional, religious garb during her wedding. Doesn't add up man," while @JFarrell412 added:

"Nah Conor. You said what you said, those were your true feelings. You can’t take that s**t back and attempt a poor ass apology just because you got called out for your anti-cultural, hateful, disgusting views."

UFC boss Dana White, meanwhile, appeared to know Conor McGregor would come back to the Octagon before too long. Speaking on Las Vegas Channel 8, shortly after McGregor retired, White said:

"No. I think that there's some things that Conor wants and I think that Conor wants to get together face to face, he and I, and we probably will in the next couple of weeks and we'll get this thing [Conor's retirement] figured out. Listen, who gets respected more than Conor McGregor does? Come on."

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"The guy's never been disrespected, definitely not by me. And he's got a lot of money too," added the UFC head honcho. 

Following months of ceaseless speculation, intrigue and chatter, perhaps the most surprising thing about The Money Fight was that promoters were actually successful in making it a reality. In reality, the outcome of the bout was never truly in question; a masterful boxer, arguably the greatest defensive fighter ever and, lest we forget, undefeated, was never going to lose to Conor McGregor on his professional debut. This is why the fight had been greeted with such derision by many in the boxing world, though the tantalising, minute possibility that McGregor could land a big left hand, somehow, and win the fight was enough to have fans buying the fight in their millions. Inevitably, Mayweather defeated McGregor, recording his 50th win from his 50th professional bout, and abruptly retiring once more, even more wealthy than before, and with his undefeated legacy firmly intact. Conor Mcgregor, meanwhile, felt that the fight had been stopped too early, claiming he was merely fatigued rather than hurt, and so he will no doubt be frustrated to learn that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has handed him a two-month suspension on medical grounds following the fight. In practical terms, this means that it is unlikely McGregor will fight again before the end of this year, despite reportedly eyeing a return to the UFC before the end of 2017. Interest in Conor McGregor has arguably never been greater; though his defeat by Floyd Mayweather was, perhaps, expected, the Irishman gave a better account of himself than many felt would be possible in the lead up to the bout, and his promotional power was undeniable, second to none, magnetic. Has there ever been a fighter, across any discipline, who commands as much attention, awe and intrigue as Conor McGregor now does? For though he lost The Money Fight in practice, in reality he is almost as much a winner as Mayweather in terms of the growth of his brand and cache. For a man who rose from relative poverty, these dizzy climbs are astonishing and laudable. Audie Attar, McGregor's manager, has been discussing potential future opponents for McGregor, and it makes for enticing reading; “[McGregor] wants that trilogy [with Diaz]. “You’ve got Khabib [Nurmagomedov] calling him out, then you obviously have Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee who are fighting for the interim lightweight title. "You have Max Holloway, who is the 145 champ now, who Conor beat after blowing out his ACL at the beginning of the fight. "You have options, and he loves mixed martial arts." A trilogy fight with Nate Diaz would surely be the fans preferred next destination for McGregor, who has faced off against Diaz in two brutal contests thus far, splitting the pair. Whatever Conor McGregor's next move, now, more than at any other point during his career, the whole world will be watching. The Money Fight has launched his career into the stratosphere.

It would be fair to say that 2019 was a challenging year for Conor McGregor.

Fresh off a devastating defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov by way of submission in October of 2018, the Crumlin-born fighter made headlines more for his actions outside of the octagon than any exploits in it.

Despite successfully launching his own brand of Irish whisky - Proper Twelve - Conor has had a tumultuous year that culminated in allegations of assault after a video appeared to show him striking a man in an Irish pub.

Conor McGregor was mocked recently for appearing this bizarre Russian advert:

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In an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani in the wake of the incident, the Irish fighter was contrite, stating;

"In reality, it doesn't matter what happened there. I was in the wrong. That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it to end the way it did. And although it was five months ago, I tried to make amends, and I made amends back then. But that does not even matter. I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility. I owe it to the people that have been supporting me. I owe it to my mother, my father, my family. I owe it to the people who trained me in martial arts."

CCTV footage shows Conor McGregor smashing a fan's phone:

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He also spoke out on his future in the UFC, saying at the the time that he was game to fight anyone. Back then, it seemed most likely that he would face Justin Gaethje, but we now know that Conor will be making his UFC return at welterweight against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

This marks Conor's return to the 170lb weight limit - the same weight at which he fought out two monumental scraps with Nate Diaz - and it's fair to say that the Irishman is looking absolutely ripped as he makes his final preparations for the comeback.

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Conor will make his return to UFC action on January 18 against Donald Cerrone as the main event at UFC 246.