Conor McGregor's highly anticipated return to the UFC ended in disaster on Saturday night, as the Irish star suffered a knee injury just 69 seconds into his welterweight bout against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
Fight ends abruptly in first round
Fighting for the first time in over five years, the 37-year-old McGregor opened the fight with a flying left roundhouse kick but landed awkwardly on his right knee. After attempting two more strikes, it became clear he could not continue, and the referee stopped the bout at 1:09 of the first round.
UFC CEO Dana White confirmed after the fight that the injury is believed to be a torn ACL. "We're assuming a blown ACL. I'm no doctor, but that's what I figured when I saw it, and doctors think the same thing too," White said.
Holloway reacts to anticlimactic finish
Holloway, who won the fight by TKO due to injury, expressed disappointment at the outcome. "What can I say? I had him weak in the knees I guess. So much hype. We've got to run it back one more time. For it to end like this sucks," he said.
The bout was a rematch of their 2013 featherweight fight, which McGregor won by unanimous decision. McGregor entered as the underdog, having not fought since breaking his left leg in a 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier.
McGregor denies pre-existing injury
In a social media post after the fight, McGregor denied that the injury was pre-existing. "I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell," he wrote.
McGregor's last UFC victory was a 40-second win over Donald Cerrone in January 2020. He had been the UFC's most marketable star, becoming the first fighter to hold two titles simultaneously in 2016, and reportedly earned over $100 million for his 2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
