Conor McGregor’s comeback ended almost as quickly as it started after the former two-division champion appeared to blow out his knee with Max Holloway getting the win in the UFC 329 main event.
It was a disastrous set of circumstances after McGregor threw a jumping roundhouse kick to start the fight but replays showed an awkward landing ended with his knee popping out. McGregor attempted to continue but he was clearly compromised as Holloway started dishing out damage on the ground during two different
moments in the opening round.
Finally, McGregor made one last attempt to get back to his feet but he could barely stand it and it forced referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight with the end coming just 1:09 into the opening round. A despondent McGregor sat in his corner receiving medical attention before leaving the octagon with help from his team.
As for Holloway, he gets the win but certainly now how he envisioned his rematch against McGregor ending.
“Give it up for Conor McGregor guys,” Holloway said afterwards. “What an absolute animal. He kept asking to fight on. You guys are lucky, there’s going to be a Holloway vs. McGregor 3 now. What can I say? I had him weak in the knees, I guess. It is what it is.
“So much hype for that. We’ve got to run it back one more time. We need one more. For it to end like this, it sucks.”
It was an anticlimactic ending after McGregor spent months hyping up his return to action following a five-year long layoff.
He opened the fight with that jump kick trying to get out to an early start but he landed awkwardly on his right knee as he stumbled to the canvas. The Irish superstar tried to throw another head kick and that ended with him on his back as Holloway jumped down to start throwing some punches.
Another slip from McGregor put him down again as Holloway threw a few more shots and he tried to make the referee aware that his opponent was clearly injured. McGregor attempted to get back to his feet again and his knee buckled as he limped away.
That was enough for Beltran to wave off the fight with McGregor’s comeback ending in disappointing fashion as the Las Vegas crowd was almost sitting in a stunned silence following the end of the main event.
If McGregor suffered a serious knee injury as it appeared, he could be looking at another year long layoff before he could event contemplate competing again. It’s entirely possible a devastating injury like that could conceivably end McGregor’s combat sports career.
As for Holloway, he gets the win and probably a sizable payday but he doesn’t get the satisfaction he wanted in hopes of avenging his past loss to McGregor from 13 years ago. He’ll move forward but it remains to be seen what’s next for him after a sad end to UFC 329.
