McGREGOR IN CLASH WITH REFEREE AFTER WARD BOUT

MMA: Two-weight UFC world champion Conor McGregor landed himself in further controversy by clashing with MMA referee Marc Goddard in Dublin last night, WRITES LUKE BROWN.

McGregor (right) was at the Bellator 187 event at the 3Arena to watch his friend Charlie Ward take on John Redmond.

Ward had just knocked out Redmond in the final seconds of an explosive first round when a delighted McGregor jumped into the cage to celebrate with his friend in what was a clear breach of rules.

The referee immediately ran to McGregor in an attempt to get him to leave the cage and the pair became involved in an altercation.

As McGregor’s entourage, which included the UFC lightweight Artem Lobov, piled into the cage, the pair were quickly separated.

The Irish superstar then appeared to push Goddard up against the cage as he angrily shouted in his face.

After almost a minute of uproar, tempers began to cool marginally and McGregor left the cage.

This is not the first time McGregor and Goddard have clashed – the pair previously became involved in a dispute at UFC Gdansk.

McGregor has not fought since he lost his professional boxing debut to Floyd Mayweather but his name has rarely been out of the headlines.

And last month he made a public apology after he was caught on camera using a homophobic slur while supporting his sparring partner Lobov at a UFC event.