Moments after Conor McGregor did his trademark strut around the octagon before facing Max Holloway at UFC 329, he was hobbling out of the T-Mobile Arena.

McGregor was fighting for the first time since 2021 but lasted just 69 seconds having sustained a knee injury.

The Irishman appeared to pick up the injury in the opening seconds as his knee buckled when landing after failing to connect with a kick.

It was McGregor’s third successive defeat and leaves him with just one win since 2016.

The severity of the knee injury was not clear in the immediate aftermath, but UFC broadcaster Megan Olivi said McGregor refused the offer of crutches.

He was later seen limping out of the arena and to his car.

Britain’s first UFC champion Michael Bisping, who was working as a pundit for Paramount+ said: “If it’s a real surgery, if he’s blown his ACL and will have to take a year or 18 months out, that’s it.

McGregor is the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts and was integral in building the sport’s popularity.

But many have questioned whether he still has a place in the spotlight after a series of controversies, including losing a civil jury appeal against a finding at the High Court in Dublin that he had sexually assaulted a woman, and missed drugs tests.

McGregor had not fought since breaking his leg in defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021, but he has featured in the headlines since.

In November 2024, Nikita Hand, who accused McGregor of raping her, won her claim against him for damages for assault by rape in a civil case.

A jury found that McGregor sexually assaulted Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018 and he was ordered to pay her £206,000 plus damages.

McGregor lost his civil jury appeal in July 2025 and Hand announced the following month her intention to sue him and two other people for damages, alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.

Despite losing his appeal, McGregor continues to accuse Hand and her lawyers of lying, while Hand said she was “retraumatised over and over again” by the trial.

When asked this week if he understood why people were uncomfortable with him in the spotlight following the outcome of the civil case, McGregor said: “I’m an innocent man and I’ll stand for my innocence until the day I go out.”

‘Changing of the guard’

Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett, who beat Benoit Saint-Denis in just 52 seconds in the co-main event, was being interviewed when he saw McGregor’s fight waved off via a TV backstage.

“Oh my god, McGregor’s done already? He’s finished, the new boy is in town. I can become the face of the organisation now,” Pimblett said.

“You could call that the changing of the guard, I can be the new face of MMA now. I just got a finish in 52 seconds on the biggest card of the year.”

Some speculated that McGregor, who has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, may have carried an injury into the fight, but he posted on X to refute those claims.

“I had no injury/injuries going into the fight,” McGregor said.

“I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere.”

McGregor’s bout with Holloway was a rematch 13 years after the Irishman won by decision.

Their first meeting took place at featherweight but they stepped into the octagon as welterweights on Sunday.

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev posted on X: “Conor beat Conor, congrats Max.” (BBC)

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