Khabib Nurmagomedov has claimed his frustration with Conor McGregor's performance during their 2018 bout sparked the post-fight brawl.
The Russian fighter earned his most high-profile victory in the UFC when he submitted his rival in the fourth round.
Stakes had been extremely high going into the bout following a fractious and ugly build-up which spilled over after the bout with a furious brawl erupting between the fighters and their teams, reports The Mirror.
Nurmagomedov has now explained that he had prepared for a war in the cage and was disappointed with the final outcome despite having his hand raised in victory.
"First of all, I was preparing for war. I come inside the cage, I fight with this guy, and he tapped," Nurmagomedov told the Full Send podcast. "I'm like, 'Why I come here? Why I train so hard for this?
"You're going to tap easily like this?' I just take his chin, you know, and he tapped. This one make me upset too, you know, because I accept more than what I find inside the cage... I remember someone from his corner said something and it was crazy emotional.
"I'm not going to say I am proud of something like this, at the age of 33-years-old I can say I wouldn't have jumped into the crowd now.
"I am like 'okay this party is not finished'. I don't really remember but who cares, I think he was happy because what would have happened if the referee wasn't there?
"They never asked to fight again, there was no reason to make the rematch after he tapped out in four rounds."
Nurmagomedov and McGregor scuffled after the Russian leapt on to the cage to throw his mouthguard at McGregor's teammate Dillon Danis.
The Russian's cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov then became involved, with two of Nurmagomedov's team then proceeding to attack McGregor on the other side of the cage.
Nurmagomedov was suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and fined $500,000 after what turned out to be his final fight in Las Vegas.
His rival McGregor was also fined $50,000 and banned for six-months after becoming embroiled in the post-fight scenes, with two of the Russian's team suspended.
The rivalry is considered one of the most historic in the promotion, with the event going on to become the highest selling UFC pay-per-view of all time with approximately 2.4 million buys.
Nurmagomedov later retired from the sport in 2020 as an undefeated champion after making two further defences of his title against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
McGregor faces a different challenge having suffered back-to-back defeats against trilogy rival Poirier and will seek redemption upon his return.
The Irish star suffered a broken leg injury in his previous bout and is eyeing a return to sparring and contact training in April, with a view to making an octagon comeback in the summer.
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