Even in disciplinary matters, the fates of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are interwoven. And even months later, their extracurricular melee at UFC 229 is paying promotional dividends. You know, in its own way.

It was a fairly predictable day in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. A six-month suspension for McGregor. Nine months (with the possibility of time off for good behavior) for Nurmagomedov. A fine of $500,000 for “The Eagle” who couldn’t help but fly right out of the cage on that October night in Las Vegas. A mere $50,000 for the Irishman whose primary offense was creating the volatile environment in the first place.

So good, now that’s over. Assuming neither party does anything in the meantime to make things worse, both could be free and clear by early July, when the UFC typically looks to book a summer blockbuster under the banner of “International Fight Week.”

Or, if Nurmagomedov sticks to his reported pledge to avoid Nevada and wait out his teammates’ suspensions for their role in the fracas, he could be looking at a return in late fall.

The question is, who would he be returning against, especially after all that time away?

UFC President Dana White has hinted that a rematch between lightweight champ Nurmagomedov and former two-division champ McGregor is likely, contingent on both men making it through the NSAC disciplinary process in one piece. After their sentences were handed down in their absence today, the footage of the post-fight brawl found new life on ESPN that same afternoon, giving the rivalry a little boost during the punishment phase.

But seriously, do we really need to see this again? Is there anyone out there burdened by unanswered questions after the first meeting?

Well, OK, maybe not at this very instant. But keep in mind that McGregor’s suspension is set to end in April. And Donald Cerrone will probably be itching for a paycheck by then, so his hyper-friendly callouts of McGregor might actually come to fruition.

And who knows, right? A McGregor victory over a beloved and respected MMA personality, a well-timed turn of phrase aimed into the right camera lens, and we might just surprise ourselves by how easily we could get talked into doing this one more time. The people counting up the pay-per-view receipts probably hope so.

But it does make you wonder about the actual division, doesn’t it? Nurmagomedov adds a self-imposed hiatus to a self-destructive suspension, adding up to year on the sidelines, and apparently that’s just fine. UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley has the audacity to go a few months without agreeing to his next title defense and White starts talking about stripping him of his title.

Then there are the other lightweights, like former interim champ Tony Ferguson. By any purely athletic assessment, he deserves to be next in line for the 155-pound belt. Now he’s supposed to wait through suspensions, religious holiday observances, and protest delays just to find out whether he’s getting passed over again. (Spoiler alert: He is.)

Is it right? Not even a little bit. Is it the way we’ve grown accustomed to seeing this sport work? Yeah, pretty much. And will the currently suspended bad boys find themselves in a cage together to the profit of all parties concerned once it’s all over? Almost certainly.

In the meantime, there are fines to be paid and public service announcements to be filmed. Much like the NSAC’s declarations of shock and contempt at all this bad behavior, surely it will all be done with the utmost sincerity.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.