McGregor hurts knee, loses to Holloway in UFC return

Conor McGregor lost his long-awaited comeback fight against Max Holloway in anticlimactic fashion.

McGregor suffered a right knee injury in the opening moments of Saturday's UFC 329 main event and was unable to continue. Holloway officially won via TKO at the 1:09 mark of the first round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC CEO Dana White said he's under the impression that McGregor tore his ACL.

"We're assuming blown ACL," White said at the postfight press conference. "I'm no doctor, but that's what I figured when I saw it, and the doctors think the same thing, too."

McGregor stepped into the Octagon for the first time since he broke his left leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. It was the longest layoff of his career.

McGregor threw a jumping kick at the start of the fight against Holloway and appeared to land awkwardly on his right leg. He fell to the ground multiple times as Holloway got on top and landed punches. McGregor continued to have difficulty with his stability, and referee Mike Beltran eventually stopped the fight 69 seconds in.

McGregor was seen limping out of the arena less than an hour after the fight.

Holloway said he hopes to run it back with McGregor when he's healthy.

"You guys are lucky, because there is gonna be a Holloway vs. McGregor 3 now," Holloway said. "Let's get this f-----g money."

He added: "It is what it is. I'm gonna sit down with (UFC chief business officer) Hunter (Campbell), sit down with the UFC. So much hype for that, right? We gotta run it back one more time. One more time for the boys."

McGregor is now riding a three-fight losing streak and is 1-4 in his last five Octagon appearances. He suffered a second-round knockout loss to Poirier in January 2021 before snapping his leg in the first round of their trilogy bout six months later.

The 37-year-old Irishman was supposed to return against Michael Chandler in June 2024, but he withdrew from the UFC 303 main event just weeks before the fight after breaking his toe in training.

McGregor, the biggest star in UFC history, remains winless since he knocked out Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020.

Holloway, a former featherweight champion, got back into the win column after a lopsided defeat to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March, in which he lost the BMF title. He also avenged a 2013 unanimous decision loss to McGregor with Saturday's victory.

The 34-year-old Hawaiian has alternated wins and losses in his last five fights, which includes a knockout victory over current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in 2024.