Conor McGregor jumps into cage before throwing punch at referee during chaotic Bellator 187

Two-weight UFC world champion Conor McGregor has landed himself in further controversy by appearing to attack MMA referee Marc Goddard at a Dublin MMA event.

McGregor was at the Bellator 187 event in Dublin, Ireland to watch his friend Charlie Ward take on John Redmond.

Ward had just knocked out Redmond in the final seconds of the first round when McGregor jumped into the cage to celebrate with his friend, in a clear breach of rules.

Goddard immediately ran to McGregor in an attempt to get him to leave the cage when the pair became involved in an altercation.

As McGregor’s entourage, which included the UFC lightweight Artem Lobov, piled into the cage the pair were quickly separated, although the Irish superstar then appeared to push Goddard up against the cage as he angrily shouted in his face.

After almost a minute of carnage, tempers began to cool marginally, and McGregor left the cage. This is not the first time McGregor and Goddard have clashed, after the pair previously became involved in a dispute at UFC Gdansk.

McGregor has not fought since he lost his professional boxing debut to Floyd Mayweather but nevertheless his name has rarely been out of the headlines.

And last month he made a public apology after he was caught on camera using a homophobic slur while supporting his sparring partner Lobov at a UFC event.