Somewhere, Dana White is smiling.

Sidney Crosby says P.K. Subban was channeling his inner mixed martial artist when the two stars got tangled up in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.

Crosby repeatedly pushed the Nashville Predators defenseman's head into the ice during their tussle late in the first period, but the Pittsburgh Penguins captain insisted postgame he was merely defending himself.

"He lost his stick. He was doing some UFC move on my foot, so I don't know what he was trying to do," Crosby told reporters, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "I was trying to get out of there. He had lost his stick, he (was) just trying to hold me down. I don't know what he was trying to do with my ankle."

Crosby was asked if that's why he resorted to hitting Subban's head several times.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was in some kind of lock he had going on there. I don't know what it was."

Both players were given minor penalties for the dustup, but clearly their feud - which has manifested itself both on and off the ice - is far from over.

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