Conor McGregor has vowed to return from another serious injury, but it may be a situation where it’s difficult for fans to buy what the UFC is selling them.
The former two-division world champion ended a five-year hiatus earlier this month in a highly-anticipated clash with Max Holloway.
Conor McGregor reacts after his loss to Max Holloway. AP Photo/John Locher
Unfortunately for the Irish megastar and those who spent money to watch it at home or inside T-Mobile Arena, the fight was over before it began.
From the opening bell, McGregor flew out of the gates and attempted a jumping high kick, blowing out his knee and forcing the referee to wave off the bout.
McGregor has since confirmed he tore his ACL and meniscus, which has cast major doubts over whether he would fight again.
However, despite calls for him to retire, the 38-year-old is remaining defiant and believes he could be back inside the UFC octagon by the middle of next year.
“It is the same injury as the first Holloway fight [in 2013], only this time the opposite leg. Quite shocking,” McGregor said via X.
“I returned to competition within nine months to fight Diego Brandao back then. With today’s regenerative medicine advancements and improved training methods it is well within my realm to return by next summer.
“I am walking without a crutch. I done (sic) leg extension machine work the other day to no issue. So I can walk without aid, and activate my quad under resistance. I am maximum discipline and have maintained it fully since the bout.
“I wonder was I saved from something worse here. I believe so. I would have attended the after party as “the man” and who knows then. I believe I was saved.”
It’s commendable that McGregor is taking such a positive outlook on the injury, but it’s going to be hard for UFC fans to see it in the same light, especially when the man himself has made it known he only has one fight remaining on his contract and has hinted that he would be pursuing other ventures after it.
The fight against Holloway was hyped for months as McGregor promised the greatest return in combat sports history, but failed to deliver.
It came after his last fight in 2021 ended in similar fashion, with McGregor down on the canvas clutching at his badly broken leg against Dustin Poirier.
He remains the biggest star the sport has ever produced, but will those who forked out $60 AUD for the pay-per-view or spent thousands of dollars on tickets in Las Vegas, only to be robbed of a McGregor main event, do so again?
The other glaring issue centres around who McGregor would even fight.
Conor McGregor reacts after his loss to Max Holloway. Ian Maule
The UFC wouldn’t put McGregor up against anyone that didn’t at least carry some level of star power, which is becoming an issue for the promotion in recent years.
It makes the list of options rather limited and not all that enticing.
McGregor is never making it back down to featherweight or lightweight, which all-but rules out the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira, while rising star Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett would be an ugly mismatch.
In the welterweight division, where McGregor’s clash with Holloway took place, he is nowhere near getting a shot at Islam Makhachev while the likes of Carlos Prates, Jack Della Maddalena and Ian Machado Garry would be too much for an ageing, injury-plagued version of the MMA legend to contain.
He was meant to meet Michael Chandler before succumbing to a toe injury two years ago and, since then, the American has lost three fights in a row.
Poirier is a potential left-field option too given their history, but that would require him coming out of retirement for a fourth clash with McGregor.
One of McGregor’s other big rivals, Nate Diaz, is well beyond his own prime and it’s unlikely the UFC would even offer him a contract after his recent Netflix debut.
It means that the most probable opponent for McGregor, if and when he does return, will be another showdown against Holloway.
The popular Hawaiian star was vocal about his desire to complete a trilogy against McGregor, but he still has his own aspirations of becoming lightweight champion, especially considering the fact he holds a knockout win over Justin Gaethje.
Max Holloway is a big name in his own right. Getty Images
There’s still plenty to play out before McGregor is anywhere close to making yet another comeback to the octagon and Holloway probably won’t sit around waiting for it, even though he would earn another large pay cheque.
And when you consider that many people were already sceptical before UFC 329 and the controversy that surrounds McGregor away from the sport, it’s going to be a difficult sell to those who have been on the “Mystic Mac” rollercoaster for more than a decade and even more so for his long list of detractors.
Holloway said it best when he asked McGregor “why did you come back” when consoling his opponent and fans may end up asking the same thing if McGregor stays true to his word and puts his already diminished legacy at risk in 2027.