It was never meant to end this way.
Billed as the biggest fight in UFC history, and with a reported two million pay-per-view buys in North America alone, UFC 229 should have been the most spectacular event the sport has seen.
It might well be described that way in days to come, but for all the wrong reasons.
Khabib Nurmagomedov finally got a near-naked choke to stick, and shortly thereafter McGregor tapped out, but it was the digraceful scenes that followed that will live in the memory of all who witnessed them in the wake of Khabib's victory.
As reported by the BBC and others, the victor leapt out of the octagon and proceeded to seemingly attack a member of the McGregor camp, sparking scenes of chaos and melee inside T Mobile Arena.
Meanwhile, McGregor, still recovering from his fourth-round loss appeared to be punched by a member of the Khabib camp as the disgraceful scenes continued to unfurl.
Dana White refused to give Khabib his belt in the aftermath of all this, as he reportedly told the 30-year-old that a presentation might well incite further similar scenes amongst the crowd.
Conor McGregor appeared to sustain several blows to the face from at least one member of the Khabib camp, though Dana White has said that he is thankfully unharmed.
White also revealed that three members of Khabib's camp had been arrested;
“Three of his guys have been arrested, I believe they're being taken to jail right now.”
Referring to the fight after the official fight, White said he could see, “A lot of bad stuff.
“A lot of stuff that shouldn't happen, Khabib jumped over the cage and went after one of Conor's guys who I guess was trash talking him.
“I don't know what to say right now, I'm disgusted.”
While revealing that McGregor was not hurt in the incident, White added that he was "upset" about the result of the fight.
Though it officially ended in the fourth round, one feels that we will not have heard the last of this one for some time to come.
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