Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the UFC lasted just 69 seconds as he suffered another major early injury blow.
McGregor appeared to badly hurt his right knee after landing awkwardly having attempted to immediately land an acrobatic high left kick during the early stages of his comeback against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
The Irishman initially tried to fight on, but fell to the canvas several times in quick succession as it became apparent that he would be unable to continue in what was his first bout for five years.
The referee duly stepped in to wave off the short-lived welterweight contest as Holloway won by TKO (injury).
McGregor’s last UFC outing, against rival Dustin Poirier in July 2021, also ended early after he sustained a freak leg break in the first round.
Another serious injury and the resulting lengthy lay-off would inevitably lead to serious questions over the MMA future of the soon-to-be 38-year-old McGregor, though Holloway insisted that a trilogy showdown would happen with their rivalry now tied at 1-1 following McGregor’s previous points win in 2013.
“Let's give it up for Conor, what an absolute animal,” Holloway told Joe Rogan in the octagon as McGregor slowly limped backstage. “You guys are lucky because there is going to be a Holloway v McGregor three now. Let's get that money.
“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.
"I was looking forward to this. I was working hard to get to 170 [lbs] and fight this guy. For it to end like this, it sucks."
Asked for an update on McGregor in a subsequent press conference, UFC chief Dana White said: “I was expecting at least a one-round war.
“Who knew what Conor was capable of as far as cardio or whatever else after a five-year lay-off. We’re assuming [it is a] blown ACL.
“I’m no doctor, but that’s what I figured when I saw it and doctors think the same thing too.”
It was a much better night for Paddy Pimblett, who bounced back from his brutal first UFC loss to Justin Gaethje in January with an emphatic 52-second submission victory over Benoit Saint Denis in Saturday’s co-main event at T-Mobile Arena.
Pimblett locked in a near-instant guillotine choke and France’s Saint Denis could not escape, though he refused to tap out and was rendered unconscious on the mat as the referee intervened.
After his victory, Liverpool fan Pimblett led the crowd in a chant in memory of the late Reds footballer Diogo Jota, following the recent one-year anniversary of his death in a car accident.
London’s Lone'er Kavanagh was submitted in the third round of a thrilling flyweight battle with Brandon Royval to suffer his second loss, while Mario Bautista got revenge on Cory Sandhagen in a bantamweight clash and lightweight veteran King Green produced a stunning first-round stoppage of Terrance McKinney.
On the prelim card, Robert Whittaker’s debut at light-heavyweight saw him defeat Nikita Krylov in the third round, while Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Gable Steveson stopped Elisha Ellison in the first on his UFC heavyweight bow.
There was also a statement first-round stoppage from Adrian Yanez against former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, while Pimblett’s training partner Luke Riley delivered likewise against Kai Kamaka III.
Wang Cong of China cruised to a decision win over Tracy Cortez in the women’s flyweight division before calling out former kickboxing foe Valentina Shevchenko, the champion, while Damian Pinas and Ryan Gandra secured respective first-round stoppages of Cesar Almeida and Zachary Reese.
Farid Basharat stayed undefeated at bantamweight against plucky UFC debutant John Garza, while the night opened with Brazilian flyweight Alessandro Costa submitting Cody Durden with a rear-naked choke.
