CONOR McGREGOR suggested Islam Makhachev was fortunate to not be penalised for punches to the back of Alexander Volkanovski's head.
Makhachev knocked out Volkanovski in round one of their rematch at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
A head kick initially dropped the Australian featherweight champion before a series of ground and pound strikes forced the stoppage.
But as Volkanovski attempted to wriggle free, he was on the receiving end of some shots to the back of his head.
Irish superstar McGregor claimed in a now-deleted post thatMakhachev could have been punished.
He posted on X, formerly Twitter: "A difficult sport to ref.
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"To stop that on a warning or a point deduction when volk was essentially out already is a tricky one.
"But there would be grounds for it, 100 per cent. Would have been nail biting stuff. I’d have loved to see it happen.
"Back of the head shots are not good."
Volkanovski – who took the fight on two weeks notice – did not mention the illegal strikes following defeat.
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He said: "A great set up. A great kick. It's hard, I don't like losing. It hurts me.
"He's a great champion. I back myself every single time and I still stand by that, always back yourself.
"Islam is one man who you don't want to back yourself [against] if you don't prepare properly because look what he can do to you, he's that good. Credit to him."
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