Fans waited almost two years to see McGregor back in the Octagon but things did not go to plan for the Dublin fighter.
Khabib dominated the fight, forcing McGregor to the canvas regularly before locking his opponent in a choke-hold midway through the fourth round.
The Ireland hero had little choice but to tap out – but Khabib’s victory was marred by the violent scenes that followed.
The 30-year-old Russian jumped out of the cage and into the crowd, causing a brawl with members of McGregor’s camp, while the Irishman was simultaneously attacked inside the octagon.
Following the chaos in Las Vegas, Khabib issued an apology in his post-fight press conference but showed his disdain for McGregor’s behaviour in the build-up to the UFC 229 event.
He said: “First of all I want to say sorry to Nevada Athletic Commission and second to Vegas. I know this is not my best side. I’m a human being.
“But I don’t understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage.
“He talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father.
“He came to Brooklyn and he broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people. What about this s***?
“Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don’t understand.
“This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport. I want to change the game, you cannot talk about religion, about nationality.”
Why did Conor McGregor not speak after Khabib fight?
The Irish hero was not required to fulfil his post-fight media duties after being allowed to leave the T-Mobile Arena in the wake of the melee.
Instead, McGregor took to Twitter to suggest a rematch was on the cards.
He wrote: “Good knock. Looking forward to the rematch.”
McGregor had already elected not to press charges against the individuals who attacked him, who were all arrested by Las Vegas Police before being released.
Will Khabib be punished over post-fight brawl?
According to former UFC title contender Dan Hardy, Khabib “has to be suspended” and stripped of his belt for the chaos that ensued following his win over McGregor at UFC 229.
“I don’t see any other way around it,” said Hardy. “His actions almost led to a full scale arena riot.
“Unfortunately, he is going to be suspended for a period of time, which means that the belt would probably be stripped from him.
“Then we’ll see number one contender Tony Ferguson face somebody else for the vacant title.”