Irish mixed artial arts fighter Conor McGregor has tried to start a fight during a staredown with Russia's UFC World Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov by slapping his opponent on the hands. This happened at a UFC 229 weigh-in in Las Vegas.

Both McGregor and Nurmagomedov passed the weigh-in procedure - at 70.1 kg and 70.3 kg respectively.

The Nurmagomedov-McGregor fight is scheduled to be held within the frames of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 229 in Las Vegas this Saturday, October 6, at the 20,000-seat capacity T-Mobile Arena. All tickets for the fight had been immediately sold as they were rolled out in mid-August.

On April 8, Nurmagomedov defeated his US opponent Al Iaquinta in a five-round fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight belt in New York.

Nurmagomedov became the first Russian to be awarded the UFC champion title. The 29-year-old Russian clinched the 26th victory in his career with no defeats, while Al Iaquinta suffered his fourth defeat with 13 victories and one draw.

The Russian fighter was initially scheduled to square off with Max Holloway for the title of the UFC lightweight champion in New York, but Holloway did not pass the weighing procedure and doctors ordered him against the fight.

Last time McGregor fought in the UFC was in November 2016, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to become the UFC Lightweight Champion. McGregor has a record of 16 knockouts, one submission win and 12 first-round finishes in the UFC.

However, he never attempted to defeat the title for the period of two years and the bout for the new UFC champion in lightweight category was scheduled in New York on April 8 between Russia’s Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway of the United States.

Nurmagomedov made his UFC debut on January 20, 2012, defeating Iran’s Kamal Shalorus by submission (rear naked choke).

The encounter with Al Iaquinta was the tenth in the UFC for the Dagestani-born mixed martial arts fighter, who won all of his ten bouts.