Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the UFC ended devastatingly after the Irish superstar suffered a knee injury just 69 seconds into his clash with Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
The former two-division champion’s comeback lasted barely over a minute as an awkward injury forced referee Mike Beltran to stop the contest, handing Holloway victory by technical knockout at the T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor, 37, started aggressively, throwing a pair of high kicks in the opening exchanges. However, both attempts missed their target, and moments later the Irishman collapsed to the canvas after appearing to injure his knee.
Although he managed to get back to his feet, McGregor was clearly unstable and unable to continue, prompting the referee to wave off the bout.
The defeat marked another cruel setback for McGregor, who was making his first UFC appearance since suffering a horrific leg break in his trilogy defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
For Holloway, the victory provided long-awaited revenge after losing to McGregor when they first met in 2013. The Hawaiian improved his professional record to 28 wins from 37 fights.
Despite securing the win, Holloway admitted the abrupt ending left him unsatisfied and immediately called for a trilogy bout.
“You guys are lucky because there is going to be a Holloway vs McGregor 3 now,” he said.
“It is what it is. I’ll sit down with the UFC. There was so much hype for that. We have to run it back one more time. We need one more.
“I was looking forward to this. I was working hard to get to 170 pounds and fight this guy. For it to end like this, it sucks.”
The former featherweight champion was making his welterweight debut, while McGregor was hoping to revive his UFC career after years of inactivity.
Instead, the result adds to a worrying run for one of mixed martial arts’ biggest stars.
The loss is McGregor’s seventh in professional MMA and his fourth defeat in his last five fights. Since 2016, the Irishman has recorded just one victory inside the octagon, raising fresh questions about whether he can still compete at the highest level.
With Holloway already pushing for a third meeting, attention will now turn to the severity of McGregor’s latest injury and whether the former champion can recover for another comeback.
