{"id":796673,"date":"2026-07-13T02:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/796673\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T02:49:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:49:32","slug":"ufc-329-conor-mcgregor-reacts-after-knee-injury-disaster-vs-max-holloway-media-fighter-fan-reaction-fight-video-and-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/796673\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 329: Conor McGregor reacts after knee injury disaster vs Max Holloway, media, fighter, fan reaction, fight video and highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conor McGregor\u2019s long-awaited comeback against Max Holloway ended in heartbreak on Sunday afternoon<\/a> at UFC 329 after the Irishman injured his leg in the opening seconds of the fight.<\/p>\n

The sold-out arena fell silent after McGregor attempted an explosive jumping roundhouse kick but landed awkwardly, immediately appearing to be in distress.<\/p>\n

UFC 330: Makhachev v Machado Garry | SUN 16 AUGUST 11AM AEST | UFC Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev will return to the octagon for another tittle defence, where he takes on Ian Machado Garry in Philadelphia. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Although McGregor tried to get back to his feet, he was soon back on the canvas having clearly injured his right knee. <\/p>\n

With \u2018Notorious\u2019 unable to stand, Holloway landed several shots on the downed fighter before referee Mike Beltran stopped the contest just 1:09 into the opening round.<\/p>\n

EVERY KO & submission from UFC 329 | 05:53<\/p>\n

McGregor hobbled out of the arena without making a statement, but took to social media afterwards to shed light on his mental and physical condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy head gasket is gone. Destroyed,\u201d McGregor wrote on X. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irishman also strongly hit back at suggestions he went into the fight carrying an injury<\/a>, with many speculating there were signs of a leg problem in vision of him preparing to enter the Octagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened,\u201d McGregor wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow. I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

HOLLOWAY: UFC star\u2019s classy act after Conor is brutally booed<\/a><\/p>\n

WHITTAKER: Aussie fires back at critics after \u2018nasty\u2019 UFC statement in \u2018life-changing\u2019 move<\/a><\/p>\n

Max Holloway’s classy post-fight speech | 01:35<\/p>\n

As the official result was announced, many fans voiced their frustration by booing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sitting here in stunned disbelief,\u201d said commentator Jon Anik.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe blew his ACL out with the very first move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Cormier added: \u201cIt\u2019s like somebody took my candy from me. I\u2019m so sad.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fight fans and pundits had been waiting five years to see the Irish superstar back in action and were stunned by the result. <\/p>\n

\u201cConor McGregor is done. When you have that type of layoff, the injuries happen that much quicker,\u201d posted fight writer Abraham Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

MMA scribe Aaron Bronsteter described the scenes as \u201cjust an awful outcome for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a huge anticlimax following McGregor spending years teasing his return to the Octagon following a five-year layoff from a broken leg.<\/p>\n

The injury looked serious and it could be another year before we see the superstar in the Octagon again. If we see him back again.<\/p>\n

Former and current fighters also had a lot to say on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if we will ever see Conor McGregor again,\u201d said Michael Bisping afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cTold you Conor would never fight again.\u201d posted Matt Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cBro WTF happened? That\u2019s the most embarrassing thing in the world to happen,\u201d wrote Kevin Lee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s more mad right now? Dana White or Conor fans?!\u201d posted Corey Anderson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIron shin bone and iron knee tendon will be back,\u201d posted Paulo Costa.<\/p>\n

\u201cJokes aside, feel bad for Conor. Not the way the fight should have ended.\u201d posted Rafael dos Anjos.<\/p>\n

Brian Ortega saw an opportunity to take a shot at McGregor after being criticised by the Irishman during the build-up.<\/p>\n

Holloway said he was open to the idea of another rematch against McGregor, having first fought the superstar in 2013. <\/p>\n

50 SECONDS! Paddy chokes out BSD | 00:38<\/p>\n

\u201cGive it up for Conor McGregor guys,\u201d Holloway said. \u201cWhat an absolute animal. He kept asking to fight on. You guys are lucky, there\u2019s going to be a Holloway vs. McGregor 3 now. What can I say? I had him weak in the knees, I guess. It is what it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much hype for that. We\u2019ve got to run it back one more time. We need one more. For it to end like this, it sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conor McGregor\u2019s long-awaited comeback against Max Holloway ended in heartbreak on Sunday afternoon at UFC 329 after the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-796673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}