Khabib Nurmagomedov Was Ready to Confront Conor McGregor During Bus Attack

UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov said he wanted to confront Conor McGregor during the latter's now-infamous bus altercation Thursday but that he was kept on the bus and restrained by security, per Fox Sports:

McGregor, who was charged with felony mischief and three counts of misdemeanor assault, reportedly attacked a bus in an attempt to get at Nurmagomedov at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times described the scene:

"Accompanied by several men including an Irish stablemate who is part of the criminal case, McGregor sought the bus occupied by Nurmagomedov and was seen throwing a hand truck at a passenger window, breaking the glass and injuring two fighters. Lightweight Michael Chiesa and flyweight Ray Borg suffered injuries described in court as 'bruising, a scratched cornea and cuts to the head and nose,' were briefly hospitalized and later pulled from the UFC 223 card."

"I tried to go out, but [security] caught me, closed my bus," Nurmagomedov said, adding that he pleaded to be let off the bus. "'Hey, these guys came to fight me, I have to go out, please let me off.' But security caught me."

He added he would have been happy to have faced McGregor outside of the Octagon.

"If you want to catch me, send me a message. Let me know where. What time?" Nurmagomedov said. "One-on-one, 10-on-10, it doesn't matter. Send me a location. It's Brooklyn."

McGregor pleaded not guilty on all charges. He posted $50,000 bail and will have his next hearing June 14.

According to Pugmire, McGregor's outburst came after he learned of a confrontation between Nurmagomedov and Artem Lobov, a teammate and friend of McGregor's. The two had a verbal confrontation at their hotel, per Patrick Redford of Deadspin.

UFC president Dana White said he spoke to McGregor and that the UFC superstar essentially defended his actions, per First Things First: 

"It's not that I don't think he understood what happened. It's just that he justified it. It was justified to him," White said. He further clarified McGregor's sentiments, saying, "'I'm sorry about Mike [Chiesa]. I'm sorry about Rose [Namajunas], and whoever else, but this had to be done.' They feel like these guys attacked his friend and this needs to be done."

As for Nurmagomedov, he's still scheduled to face Al Iaquinta on Saturday in what is now UFC 223's headlining fight.