Conor McGregor urged the referee to let him continue fighting despite tearing his ACL seconds into his UFC comeback bout against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas. The fight was stopped after just 69 seconds when McGregor landed awkwardly on his right knee following a flying left roundhouse kick.
Holloway, who secured an unusually quick victory, revealed that McGregor was initially adamant about continuing. "Conor is like 'fight! fight!' and I was like 'you're f***ing crazy, bro'," Holloway told Paramount+. "For the first one, when he first fell down, he was like 'fight! fight! We're good!'"
Holloway stated that McGregor's demeanor changed after he fell a second time, making it clear the injury was severe. "I had him weak in the knees, what can I say? I'm just praying for the guy, you know? All jokes aside, as a human being, even when I was in there I was saying to the referee 'yo, this guy is done,'" Holloway added.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Holloway noted McGregor's children were present, indicating he did not want to further injure a downed opponent. "He brought his kids to the fight, come on. I’m not trying to beat up a wounded dog."
McGregor, 37, took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the injury, dismissing rumors that he had entered the fight with a pre-existing condition. "My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," he wrote. "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."
UFC President Dana White confirmed there were no signs of injury at the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday. "Five years off in this sport is rough," White said. "We're assuming a blown ACL. That's what I assumed when I saw it, and that's what the doctors think, too."
McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, commented on Facebook that the injury was a devastating blow. "Devastated. That Opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warm up. Never an issue. Knee went when he thru the very first kick. Doesn't get any worse than this."
