Conor McGregor has claimed Khabib Nurmagomedov would be “dead right now” if there had been a confrontation between the pair when the Irishman hurled a metal dolly at a bus in which the Russian was sat.

In July, McGregor was sentenced to five days of community service in the United States after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct over the April 5 incident, which occurred at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center after a UFC press conference.

McGregor will return to the UFC octagon for the first time in almost two years on October 6 when he faces Nurmagomedov, who holds the lightweight title he was stripped of due to inactivity, in Las Vegas.

And the bus incident was a prominent talking point when the fighters spoke at a fiery New York press conference on Thursday.

McGregor said at the press conference, which was streamed on YouTube: “I came back for the love of this, to come and shut this man up – a little rat, a little weasel, a little hard man in groups.

“A man who grows in numbers but on his own and when confronted in a similar situation, cowers away. And that’s what you saw with that little s**** on the bus. He s*** his jocks.

“Did you not see me outside the bus? I showed you my hands – no weapons.

“To let him know I came unarmed. Step off the bus. You talked the big game, now I’m here. He done f****** nothing. He sat and took a s*** on that bus. Hid and cowered behind f****** women and caused what happened to happen.

“I just thank the Lord Jesus Christ that that man had not got the balls to step foot off that bus, or that the bus door did not open, because if that bus door had opened, this man would be dead right now. He would be in a box and I would be in a cell and we would not have this great fight ahead of us.”

UFC McGregors Return
McGregor is returning to UFC after a two-year absence (Seth Wenig/AP)

The April incident occurred after an alleged confrontation between McGregor’s friend Artem Lobov and Nurmagomedov.

While an animated McGregor threw numerous insults at Nurmagomedov on Thursday and said he would “stomp on his head as he’s unconscious” when they meet in the octagon, the Russian remained fairly calm for most of the time.

He refused to get involved when McGregor offered him some of his own brand of whiskey, which he had brought to the press conference and drank throughout.

When the subject of McGregor’s August 2017 10th-round loss to Mayweather in the boxing ring came up, the unbeaten Nurmagomedov described himself as “the Floyd Mayweather of MMA.”

And he said to McGregor: “I’m going to maul you. After this fight he is going to go back to boxing.”

When McGregor was asked if there was anything from his boxing experience that he could take into his MMA preparations, he said: “Of course. It was a great boxing match. At 30 minutes, it was my longest contest.

“I learned some things of course. With every fight, you learn and grow. I was very happy with the experience as a whole and, of course, you’ll see on October 6 the lessons I have learned.”