NEW YORK – Fans only got one chance to see Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov go nose to nose. McGregor made sure the occasion was one to remember – or maybe one you’d rather not.

Almost from the second he stepped onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) ranted and raved at all targets available, attacking the UFC and Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC), appearing at times as though he’d sampled a little too much of the whiskey he so feverishly pitched during the UFC 229 news conference.

Appearing in a maroon striped suit between two UFC belts – representative of the featherweight and lightweight titles he was stripped of for inactivity – McGregor’s first monologue was touched off by the mention of an ownership stake in the promotion, something he’d demanded as a condition of returning to MMA.

“If I was an owner, and I was part of the promotion, I would have had (expletive) fans in this arena,” he bellowed. “Where’s the (expletive) fans at? That’s who we fight for. That’s who pays the bills. That’s who deserves this show.”

On Wednesday, the UFC had to remind the media that, contrary to an earlier McGregor declaration, the press conference was not open to the public, and definitely not for a line skip he offered buyers of his new whiskey brand. To put it lightly, that didn’t go over well with the ex-champ.

“Putting me all over the world, and I’m just sitting here in this (expletive) thing,” he said. “I’m on probation up to me eyeballs and ongoing and incoming civil cases, and we come here to do this (expletive)? Bring the fans here. Here we are. You’s wanted a war – here we (expletive) are. Let’s get a war going. (Expletive) all this other stupid (expletive).”

McGregor dressed the set, adjusting his belt, before getting to his first point, which is that the UFC didn’t give him an ownership stake.

“So here we are,” he said.

Although an ownership stake undoubtedly would have put more money in his pocket for UFC 229, which takes place Oct. 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, McGregor claimed he isn’t in this for the money. After a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather put more than $100 million in his pocket, he’s fine. Its Nurmagomedov, rather, who is looking to cash in. And McGregor is here to “shut this man up.”

“A little rat – a little weasel,” he said of Nurmagomedov, who sat stone-faced on the opposite side of the dais with the current UFC lightweight title. “A little hard man in groups. I’ve met many of them through my years. A man who grows in numbers, but on his own and when confronted in a similar situation, cowers away.”

McGregor was referring to the bus attack that briefly landed him in jail and provided much footage for UFC 229’s advertising, a dolly-throwing melee in which the Irish star charged Nurmagomedov’s transport bus at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, hoping to settle the score for an earlier provocation against his Russian teammate, Artem Lobov.

“That’s what you saw with the (expletive) on the bus,” McGregor said as Nurmagomedov smiled. “He (expletive) his jocks after doing something to his own countryman. I came back for the love of fighting and the love of war. And this, I’m going to truly, truly love putting a bad, bad beating on this little glass-jawed rat.”

Asked to respond, Nurmagomedov was immediately interrupted by McGregor, who called him a “fanboy (expletive)” who “bought T-shirts of mine to support the cause.

“And then, over in his neck of the woods, a man who was involved with something, a man who’s now in prison – Vladimir Putin locked him up for embezzling $150 million worth of money from the Russian people. He started to invest and (Nurmagomedov) started to grow in power, started to get this false power and thinking he’s a hard man, tough guy. Then the (expletive) hit the fan with your man, he gets locked up, and now, there’s not a bean left. And now, here I am to put the nail in the coffin.”

Nurmagomedov, who turned 30 today, chuckled at the speech. It was, he said, “exactly what he expected,” though surely he didn’t expect McGregor to fly off the rails as forcefully as he did. Eventually, he was forced to catch up, and the two talked over each other in an uninterrupted stream of insult and counter.

“Smash me,” McGregor told Nurmagomedov, crossing the threshold and drawing an interception from UFC President Dana White. “Here, smash me. You say, ‘Send location.’ Here he is right in front of you. I’m right in front of you. Did you not see me right in front of you outside the (expletive) bus? I showed you my hands – no weapons. I showed my hands to let him know I come here unarmed. Step off the bus. You talked a big name – now I’m here.

“He done (expletive) nothing. He sat and took a (expletive) on that bus. He hid and cowered behind women and caused what happened to happen. Here’s my location. Do something about it. Yeah, you’ll do (expletive) nothing.”

And then, McGregor tried to sell a little more whiskey. He pulled a tiny bottle from his jacket, a little Irish trick to avoid security, he said. Then he took a full shot, tried to get Nurmagomedov to do one, and got White to imbibe. The UFC president, smiling at the display, didn’t see any reason not to celebrate early.

For more on the UFC 229, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.