Conor McGregor's UFC 329 octagon return on July 11 went off the rails almost immediately. The former two-division champion headlined the fight card in a rematch with former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
At the sound of the bell to start the bout, McGregor rushed across the cage and leaped into the air with a jumping switch kick. He landed awkwardly on his right leg and fell to the canvas. He fell twice more, once while throwing a kick and later a punch. The referee stepped in once it was obvious McGregor had suffered an injury. It's unknown what specific injury the Irishman fell victim to or the severity of it. But that will change on Thursday.
McGregor expects the results from scans to come back tomorrow. He also thinks the bout should be rules a no contest and all wagers place on the bout returned.
"A few notes
"1. I will have the results of the scan on my leg tomorrow. 2. The fight should be a no contest and all bets returned," he wrote on Instagram.
The abrupt ending of the UFC 329 main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway sent online sleuths into a frenzy. Some accuse the Irishman of having the injury prior to the rematch with "Blessed" last Saturday. Others allege McGregor faked the injury and showed up to collect a payday.
McGregor seemingly suffered the injury in the opening seconds of the first round. He landed awkwardly after leaping into the air with a kick at the sound of the first-round bell. He fell to the canvas. Moments later he fell again while throwing a kick. Following falling a third time after throwing a punch, the fight was eventually waived off.
Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes McGregor entered the UFC 329 octagon already injured.
"I have eyes. When they did the replay and he took the Crocs off, he didn't put weight on that right leg. He didn't," Adesanya said on Precision with Mighty & Izzy. "I know he was throwing it in the locker room."
"The Last Stylebender" mentioned a rumor that someone placed a $900,000 wager on Holloway 'right before the fight.' He also pointed to lip reading a conversation between Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn before the bout.
"I have eyes. When Conor took off the Crocs, as much as much as he said afterwards, you know, 'I wasn't injured before the fight,' I saw he didn't put weight on the right leg. And that tells me something."
As McGregor warmed up in the back before making the walk to the octagon inside T-Mobile Arena, he was shown throwing kicks and the same kick that he did moments later to start the fight. He didn't appear to be injured and Adesanya admitted that there's a possibility that McGregor injured himself while warming up.
"For me, I will say I don't know. That's possible. That's plausible. He could have hurt himself in the warm-up," Adesanya said. "Who knows? But all I know is when he go to the prep point and he took his Crocs off, he wasn't standing on that leg well. And again, that could have been between that warm-up and that point."
UFC CEO Dana White got a bit defensive after accusations surfaced on Saturday night that star fighter Conor McGregor, who was making his return to the octagon after a five-year absence, had been injured prior to his fight with Max Holloway to headline UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
McGregor lost to Holloway via TKO 69 seconds into the first round of Saturday’s fight. Subsequent reports indicated that the Irishman had injured his knee on the first kick of the fight, and was unable to continue afterwards.
Following the card, White seemed to have finished up his post-event press conference with reporters, but the UFC CEO oddly returned to the microphone to offer a bizarre defense of McGregor’s health based on the number of people who had watched a clip of McGregor prior to the fight on social media.
“So, we were talking about the guy over here earlier asking about if there had been a pre-injury. Just on my accounts, the faceoff that day is at 80 million views. So if there was a preexisting injury, someone would’ve noticed it,” White claimed. “If he was limping, put his shoes on, he ran right at him. I don’t think there was [an injury]. Anything is possible, but he sure didn’t look like it. And for 80 million just on my accounts, that number’s gotta be massive, and no one’s noticed anything. So, there ya go.”
For the CEO of an MMA outfit to claim with any authority that a fighter was or was not injured based on how many people had watched a specific video clip on social media is nothing short of unconventional. But unconventional has never stopped White in the past.
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA (left) Steven Bergman/AFF-USA.COM / MEGA (right)
Jake Paul wasted little time weighing in on Conor McGregor‘s disastrous UFC comeback. Within hours of UFC 329 ending, the YouTuber-turned-boxer posted multiple videos parodying the injury that forced McGregor’s fight against Max Holloway to be stopped after just 69 seconds.
Jake Paul Initially Mocked McGregor’s Injury
Christian Lora/Image Press Agency / MEGA
In one clip shared to X, Paul appeared to recreate the moment McGregor’s knee gave out by kicking his leg twice before grabbing at it, screaming in exaggerated pain, and falling backward into a swimming pool. He captioned the video, “UFC highlights from tonight.”
Paul followed up with a similar video on Instagram, writing, “Recap for those who didn’t watch,” while once again mimicking McGregor’s awkward collapse before tumbling into the water. The videos quickly gained attention online as fans debated whether Paul had crossed a line by mocking a fighter who had potentially suffered a serious injury.
Despite the trolling, Paul later appeared to soften his stance. In a separate post on X, the boxer offered a much more sympathetic message directed toward McGregor and his family. “Prayers for you and your family,” Paul wrote.
The message stood in stark contrast to the videos he had posted earlier and differed significantly from the reaction of his brother, Logan Paul. While Jake eventually expressed support for the former UFC champion, Logan continued criticizing McGregor after revealing he had won $30,000 betting on Max Holloway.
The elder Paul brother called McGregor’s performance “pathetic” and even used the moment to challenge him to a boxing match, prompting backlash from many fans who accused him of celebrating another athlete’s injury.
McGregor Vows To Return Despite Latest Setback
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
The injury marked another heartbreaking chapter in McGregor’s comeback attempt. The former two-division UFC champion had not competed since suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, making UFC 329 one of the most anticipated fights of his career. After his knee buckled during an exchange with Holloway, referee Mike Beltran waved off the fight and awarded Holloway a TKO victory.
UFC President Dana White later revealed doctors believe McGregor may have suffered a torn ACL. “My head gasket is gone,” McGregor wrote on X while addressing fans after the fight. “I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere.”
Although clearly devastated by the result, McGregor insisted his fighting career is far from over. “I will overcome this,” he wrote. “I will not be deterred. I will return.”
Max Holloway Joked About McGregor’s Injury But Praised His Toughness
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
Max Holloway couldn’t resist taking a playful jab at Conor McGregor after the shocking ending to UFC 329.
Speaking to reporters following his victory, Holloway joked that he may have been responsible for McGregor’s knee giving out during the opening exchanges. “I had him weak in the knees, I guess,” Holloway said with a smile.
Despite the joke, Holloway admitted the ending wasn’t how he envisioned the long-awaited showdown concluding. “We have to run it back one more time for the boys,” Holloway said. “I worked my a– off to get to 170 pounds for this fight, and to see it end like this, it sucks.”
Holloway also revealed what was said between the two fighters moments after McGregor’s knee buckled. According to the former featherweight champion, McGregor initially refused to quit despite clearly being injured.
“The first time he’s on the ground, I was punching him and he’s like, ‘Fight! Fight!'” Holloway recalled. “I was like, ‘OK.’ That’s why I backed up. I said, ‘Stand up then, let’s fight.’ He fell back down and then the fight was called.”
Conor McGregor Had Promised Fans A Different Version Of Himself
EliotPress/MEGA
The disappointing ending came after months of McGregor insisting fans would see a different version of him inside and outside the Octagon.
In numerous interviews leading up to UFC 329, the former two-division champion spoke openly about recommitting himself to training, embracing his faith, and focusing on what he described as a more disciplined lifestyle.
Instead, his comeback lasted just 69 seconds before a devastating knee injury brought the fight to an abrupt end, leaving McGregor facing yet another lengthy recovery period and raising fresh questions about his future in combat sports.
UFC 329 provided an exciting night of fights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, but the event came to an unfortunate end when Conor McGregor suffered a knee injury to prematurely end his highly anticipated comeback to the Octagon.
McGregor rushed Max Holloway seconds into the fight and threw a leaping kick, before coming up limp after an awkward landing. From there, the former two-division champ struggled to keep his footing and the fight was ultimately called off by referee Mike Beltran just over a minute into the bout.
A video of McGregor appearing to lose his footing while taking off his shoes before entering the Octagon sparked the theory, and the UFC answered by sharing their own video of McGregor’s pre-fight warm-up. In that video, McGregor is seens warming up by throwing kicks similar to what he opened up his bout against Holloway with, and showing no signs of having a compromised knee.
Will that be enough to quiet the conspiracies? Probably not, despite video from the actual fight showing McGregor’s knee buckle from an awkward landing. It won’t be until an official diagnosis is confirmed that we will learn more about where everything went wrong.
“My head gasket is gone,” McGregor wrote on X. “Destroyed. I had no injury/injuries going into the fight. 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.
“I was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened. The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense. I was calm, ready, and confident. I am in shock what has taken place. The devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow.”
Jul 11, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Conor McGregor (left) attempts to get up after falling against Max Holloway during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As McGregor now prepares to recover from his latest leg injury, we’ll have to wait and see whether this is the last we have seen of the former two-division champion inside of the cage.
Holloway, meanwhile, will now have to decide whether he wants to wait for a potential McGregor trilogy fight in 2027, or whether he will make another run at UFC gold.
Login
