Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway UFC 329 rematch ends in incredibly underwhelming fashion
Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC after five years ended in 69 seconds and, as the headline reads, in incredibly underwhelming fashion.
As seen below for as long as the tweet is up, McGregor and Max Holloway had their rematch at Saturday’s UFC 329 in Las Vegas in front of the biggest gate in company history, but McGregor appeared to blow out his right knee on a jumping roundhouse kick at the beginning of the fight based on how he landed.
From there, he kept slipping when he attempted to do anything offensive. After fighting off his back, he got up to his feet with Holloway asking him if he wanted to keep going. He attempted a kick and then couldn’t, resulting in referee Mike Beltran stopping it, stunning the sold out T-Mobile Arena.
After the fight wrapped, they showed footage of McGregor warming up outside the cage before he got in there and it appeared he winced/stumbled while taking off his shoes, leading to some questioning whether he had a previous injury.
If he did tear his ACL, it’s an eerie tie in for their first meeting where McGregor also tore his ACL, albeit in a win and in an much different time of his life. At the post-event press conference, Dana White said that’s what he thought while watching but they won’t know anything until he gets an MRI.
Days before his 38th birthday, McGregor (22-7) was visibly upset afterward, but did not speak with Joe Rogan. Holloway did and called for a trilogy fight to the dismay of the fans in the arena.
It’s McGregor’s third straight loss and third straight by TKO. Holloway, making his debut at 170 pounds, has won two of his last three. He was coming off a loss to Charles Oliveira in March for the ceremonial BMF title.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.