Conor McGregor explains why he didn't throw a chair at Eddie Alvarez

NEW YORK — Conor McGregor nearly launched a chair at his opponent Eddie Alvarez on Thursday, but he was ultimately deterred by security and UFC president Dana White.

The altercation erupted after Alvarez tossed his chair down near McGregor, which the Irishman took as a sign of aggression. So in return, McGregor picked up the chair over his head and it looked like he was about to turn Madison Square Garden into WrestleMania, but cooler heads prevailed.

The rest of the UFC 205 pre-fight press conference went down without another incident and afterwards McGregor explained why he stopped from throwing the chair at Alvarez.

It had nothing to do with potentially harming his opponent or starting a brawl just 48-hours away from his championship bout against Alvarez.

It was all because of how much that chair shot would have cost McGregor in the end.

"He threw a chair at me and I picked up the chair and I was almost going to let the thing go. I had a moment to let it go and I was like I just had a flashback sitting there on that phone to Pat Lundvall and (the Nevada State Athletic Commission) and I was like '(expletive) that'. I'm not going through that again," McGregor said after the press conference ended.

The meeting  McGregor referenced happened just a few weeks ago where he appeared via phone to speak to the commission after he launched several bottles and cans at Nate Diaz when their press conference exploded back in August.

Diaz actually threw the first bottle, but then McGregor responded by firing off several cans and bottles back in his direction as well. The commission ultimately fined McGregor $75,000 along with another $75,000 that would be spent on a public service announcement starring the featherweight champion for the state.  McGregor also received community service as part of the punishment.

Following the meeting, McGregor said he never wanted to fight in Nevada again and it appears he wants to stay in the good graces of the New York State Athletic Commission as he gets ready to main event the first ever UFC card in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

For his part, Alvarez claims that he wasn't actually throwing the chair in McGregor's direction, which is what led to his explosive response.

"I decided not to sit because I didn't know what was going to go on. I took my belt back, I put it down and I lost my chair in case anything jumped off. I put my chair down," Alvarez claimed. "It slammed and he got flustered. He thought I threw the chair at him.

"I would never throw a chair at an opponent. It fell down and he went off."