Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) great Ronda Rousey has hit out at Conor McGregor, saying the Dubliner need not "cross legal lines" to promote a fight.
Rousey, who is now a star with the WWE, was referring to McGregor's attack on a bus carrying UFC fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, in New York in April.
The 31-year-old also opined that Khabib's post-fight melee at UFC 229 wasn't as bad as McGregor's violent attack and urged UFC not to give McGregor "special treatment" because he is a "bigger draw."
"I understand promoting fights and having to sell them. I really do. But, I don't think people have to get arrested in order to do that," Rousey told TMZ Sports.
"I think I've been able to prove that you can make a fight exciting and make people really wanna see it without crossing any legal lines."
"I think that Khabib jumping out of the Octagon was not as bad as throwing objects at a bus, because my friend Rose Namajunas was on that bus.
"...I think, if you're gonna draw the line there, you should have drawn it before that. I just feel like there has to be equal treatment all the way across the board. I don't think that anyone should get special treatment because they're a bigger draw.
"I don't want it to get to the point where people are not buying tickets to go see fights live, because they are afraid of what could happen in the arena."
Things got heated up between Khabib and McGregor after the undefeated Russian fighter confronted the latter's teammate Artem Lobov earlier this year.
Enraged by Khabib's act, the Irishman flew down to New York and carried out the much-talked-about bus attack with his gang during the media event of UFC 223 in April.
McGregor was arrested and handed a ban that will keep him away from fighting in New York but the bus attack, which left several fighters injured, certainly worked in his and UFC's favour when it came to building up for the UFC 229 fight between him and Khabib.
At the biggest fight of the year, McGregor was humbled by Khabib, who stretched his unbeaten streak to 27. The Russian used a rear choke and forced his opponent to submit in the fourth round of the record-shattering fight.
Soon after, Khabib jumped over the cage and started attacking McGregor's teammate after the latter reportedly needled the newly-crowned lightweight champion. Chaos followed as the Russian's teammates found their way into the octagon and threw punches at the Irish fighter.
Khabib has threatened UFC he would be quitting the promotion brand if his teammates get arrested for attacking McGregor.
Nonetheless, both the fighters have been handed 10-day suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which could extend the ban, pending a full investigation.
Khabib accuses UFC of helping McGregor to carry out bus attack
Meanwhile, Khabib has even gone on to allege that UFC had a role to play in McGregor's bus attack in April.
" In my personal opinion, I feel like the bus incident was organized with UFC's help. I can't accuse them, but I would give it 70% that they did it. I wanted to get off the bus and all the other fighters on the bus confirmed this in their interviews, and all the managers as well," the Russian said.
"It all happened in a minute in a half, two minutes max. He's there with his cameras and his PR team with him shooting. An important point - the Barclays Center is a very big arena, a 20,000-person arena, but he knew where we were exactly. How could they have known? And how did they enter the arena with a gang of 20, 30 men? Come on."
