Conor McGregor believes he was beating Khabib Nurmagomedov before being forced to submit in their fight back in October 2018.

After a bitter, violent build-up, the Russian successfully preserved his unbeaten record by making McGregor tap in the penultimate round.

But the Irishman has now come out to defend his performance on Twitter by arguing with fans about who was winning before the final moments.

He said: "I won round one. Out struck him three to one here. Elbows, knees, clatters. He held on entire round. 

Round two he won. This round had the kimura attempt you speak of. I kneed him full force into his eye socket here and broke the grip fully. A lovely shot!

"I won three also and four up until the trip."

When one fan followed on his comments by asking him why he thought he won round one, McGregor added: "Damage! Back hands forced him to the fence. Knee into neck as he shot, after 15 seconds of opening bell. Heavy elbow right into his temple as he froze after his shot.

"Repeated clatters to the temple while he tries his mermaid wrap leg. Rd was 1 pitiful from him. Rd 2 saved him."

Another user then tweeted a picture of McGregor sat down in the octagon after trading blows with Khabib, along with the sarcastic caption: "This is the face of a man who won 3 out of 4 with Khabib."

McGregor responded to this by saying: "Ye, not a scratch. Relaxing before I bounced up and bet his brother and his cousin round."

After the fight, a brawl broke out in the arena when Khabib leapt out of the octagon and attacked a member of McGregor’s team.

The UFC Lightweight Champion will return for the first time in more than a year when he takes on Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 this weekend.

Meanwhile, McGregor announced his retirement in June but is now set to dust off his gloves for a clash against Dustin Poirier in January.