Conor McGregor’s long-awaited UFC return ended in disaster Saturday night, as a knee injury forced referee Mike Beltran to stop his welterweight bout against Max Holloway just 69 seconds into UFC 329.
The Irish superstar opened aggressively with two high kicks, both missing their mark, before collapsing to the canvas. Though McGregor rose to his feet, his visible instability prompted the immediate stoppage.
The fight marked McGregor’s first octagon appearance since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021. The 37-year-old has now lost four of his past five fights, with only one victory since 2016.
Holloway, who was seeking redemption for his 2013 loss to McGregor, improved to 28-9. Speaking after the anticlimactic finish, the former featherweight champion insisted the rivalry isn’t over.
“You guys are lucky because there is going to be a Holloway v McGregor 3 now,” Holloway 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.”
Holloway was making his welterweight debut at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, moving up from 145lb for the highly anticipated clash. Instead of a career-defining victory, he left with an unsatisfying technical win and a demand for closure.
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