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.
The lackluster ending to the even led to conspiracy theories online, with many pointing out that McGregor may have been injured before stepping into the cage.
MORE: UFC 329 results – Conor McGregor return ends in seconds due to injury
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.
Conor McGregor’s warm-up moments before walking out at #UFC329. pic.twitter.com/tLfK01Jie3
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2026
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.
For his part, McGregor has also denied any pre-existing injury in a statement on social media following the heartbreaking loss.
MORE: Did Conor McGregor knee injury happen before UFC 329?
“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.
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