Was Conor McGregor really angry in April when he attacked a bus that included Khabib Nurmagomedov as a passenger on an Ultimate Fighting Championship media day, or was his display calculated to build up hype for a future matchup—like the one in Vegas, UFC229, this week? McGregor was already sore about being stripped of his two UFC titles due to inactivity, but Nurmagomedov and McGregor teammate Artem Lobov had a confrontation in Russian at the UFC 223 host hotel, and McGregor was none too pleased when Lobov translated Nurmagomedov’s words.

Nurmagomedov won the lightweight title at UFC 223, and former champion McGregor wants it back. UFC honcho Dana White is calling UFC229 the biggest fight in both men’s careers, and few if any in the mixed martial arts world contest that. McGregor hasn’t had an MMA fight since November 2016, when he won the lightweight title at UFC 205 by knocking out Eddie Alvarez. Nurmagomedov is undefeated at 26-0. McGregor has to avoid being taken to the mat by Nurmagomedov, while Nurmagomedov needs to avoid McGregor’s deadly strikes. If both fighters make it to the ring it could be the most historic MMA fight ever.

T-Mobile Arena, 3 p.m. Oct. 6, starting at $575 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849 AXS