Conor McGregor made the headlines once again recently.

The UFC star appeared at Bellator 187 when his friend Charlie Ward stopped John Redmond.

The Irishman joined Ward in the cage, but he was not an official cornerman, and referee Marc Goddard did what he could to get Notorious out of there.

"The Notorious" did not take it well, shoving the ref before he slapped a Bellator official as he was being removed from the cage.

There have been rumours concerning McGregor’s possible punishment in the following days, with Mike Mazzulli, president of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports, even suggesting that McGregor's proposed bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 219 will be cancelled.

However, boxing heavyweight Tony Bellew believes that after the apology McGregor issued, and given his global star reputation, he would not face a ban.

Bellew expressed his opinion in his column for Metro.

"Listen, McGregor was at a different organisation’s event and the UFC are not going to ban him for something he’s done at Bellator. He’s made his case as to why he did it and I think he’s been very open about it," Bellew started his analysis.

"He’s said the referee was a disgrace, stuff along those lines and you know what, sometimes things like that need to happen for a referee to realise you’re messing with people’s lives.

"McGregor has witnessed someone lose their life in a cage. After a fight with the very man he was celebrating with in Dublin. Joao Carvalho died two days after being knocked out by Charlie Ward in a fight in 2016.

"It’s something McGregor never wants to go through or see again, he probably fears it happening again. I have loved ones and family who fear every single time I walk into a boxing ring.

"They’re not really bothered by the event, but they fear at what can happen to me. So I do get it to a certain extent, not that I’m condoning what he’s done. But, I can understand why he reacted like he did.

"I’d be very surprised if the UFC punished him in any shape or form. He might get a suspended sentence of some kind of slap on the wrist, but nothing to write home about. He isn’t going to get banned anytime soon.

"McGregor is the biggest global star the UFC has ever had and ever will have. They need him back as soon as possible. He’s not even penciled in for his comeback."

Bellew believes that McGregor is too big of a star to be treated like the others and the standards applied would be different.

"Conor McGregor isn’t Roy Nelson is he? He’s not going to be held to the same standards and be banned. If he brings in the money he brings in, they can’t afford to punish him.

"It’s like saying will Cristiano Ronaldo be held to the same standards as Ross Barkley? No. The UFC will not do anything that will keep McGregor out of the octagon and mess up their plans for him."

Finally, Bellew insists that no commission would sanction a fighter that sells the way McGregor does it.

"Organisations don’t sell for $4billion and then answer to a commission. That just doesn’t happen. The Nevada commission, or any other commission in the world, is not knocking back a McGregor fight anytime soon."