Khabib Nurmagomedov jokes referee in Conor McGregor fight was bribed

Khabib Nurmagomedov has jokingly claimed referee Herb Dean was paid to allow Conor McGregor to cheat during their clash in 2018.

Nurmagomedov choked out McGregor in the fourth round of their grudge match to retain his lightweight title.

But the Dagestani felt Dean allowed his rival to stretch the rules with footage emerging of McGregor being told to stop grabbing the champion's shorts.

Observers also felt McGregor was guilty of repeatedly landing illegal strikes as he struggling in his first Octagon appearance for two years.

And footage has now emerged of Nurmagomedov joking with Dean backstage at a recent UFC event.

He says to his coach who is holding the camera, "Coach, how much do you think they paid him?"

His coach replies: "I don't know; Herb, how much?", to which Dean responds: "I was trying to do a good job,"

The coach continues: “Were you well-compensated, though?”

"That’s the thing; I’ve never been well-compensated," Dean replies.

Nurmagomedov won two of the three completed rounds against McGregor before forcing him to tap out with a rear-naked choke.

He then instigated a post-fight brawl which saw both fighters fined.

Since then the 32-year-old has gone on to defend his title twice, choking out first Dustin Poirier and then Justin Gaethje.

He announced his retirement following his win over Gaethje last October but has yet to give up his belt.

McGregor, meanwhile, was out of action for 15 months following his devastating defeat, returning last year to KO Donald Cerrone inside 40 seconds.

He was then knocked out by Poirier in their rematch earlier this year to leave his future uncertain.

The Irishman is hoping to convince the UFC to grant him a third fight with Poirier this summer to settle their rivalry which began when McGregor won their first fight by knockout in 2014.

Poirier is open to the trilogy fight, and said recently: "Conor wants the trilogy, and I do too. If they want to do it, let’s do it.

"We're just trying to get the right deal structured. This is going to be a big fight. He knocked me out, (and) I knocked him out.

"The trilogy. For sure one of the biggest fights this year, but maybe of all time…

"I don't directly talk to them. They talk to my manager, Rob Roveta. We try to put ourselves in the best position to sit at the table with them and have a legit conversation about getting this fight booked.

"We are trying to structure the right deal, and when that happens, the fight will be on. Until then, we will see.

"I think the trilogy makes a lot of sense and a lot of money. So we’re just trying to get the right deal structured and see what the timeframe is.

"For a guy like Conor, you want fans in there, even if it’s limited. Right now at the Apex where they’re set up in America, there’s obviously no fans. So where do you do that? And what’s the timeframe?"

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