Main Card
- Max Holloway def. Conor McGregor via TKO, Injury (RD 1, 1:09)
- Paddy Pimblett def. Benoit Saint Denis via Submission, D’Arce Choke (RD 1, 0:52)
- Mario Bautista def. Cory Sandhagen via Decision, Unanimous
- Brandon Royval def. Lone’er Kavanagh via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 3:40)
- King Green def. Terrance McKinney via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:59)
Preliminary Card
- Robert Whittaker def. Nikita Krylov via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:01)
- Gable Steveson def. Elisha Ellison via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:31)
- Adrian Yanez def. Cody Garbrandt via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
- Luke Riley def. Kai Kamaka III via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:03)
- Wang Cong def. Tracy Cortez via Decision, Unanimous
- Damian Pinas def. Cesar Almeida via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:44)
- Farid Basharat def. John Garza via Decision, Unanimous
- Ryan Gandra def. Zach Reese via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:15)
- Alessandro Costa def. Cody Durden via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:19)
The return of former two-division UFC Champion Conor McGregor couldn’t have gone worse.
The “Notorious” McGregor, fighting for the first time in half a decade, lasted a little more than a minute against Max Holloway due to injury. The bizarre minute-long showdown headlined UFC 329, the company’s annual “International Fight Week” card from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
McGregor slipped around the Octagon’s canvas against Holloway during their brief stand-up showdown, falling down numerous times during the few moments that the fight lasted. Broadcast speculated that a lunging front kick from McGregor, which opened the fight, could’ve caused his right leg to blow out.
Holloway, noticing that there was an issue with his opponent, kept making appeals to referee Mike Beltran to potentially step in and protect the wounded fighter.
McGregor’s right leg buckled while trying to advance on Holloway just past the bout’s one-minute mark, a concerning moment which eventually caused referee Beltran to end the bout.
While some thought that McGregor possibly entered the bout with a pre-existing injury, the MMA fighter denied such a theory in a social media statement just a few hours after the bout.
“My head gasket is gone,” McGregor said on X. “Destroyed. 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.”
The showdown between McGregor and Holloway generated loads of interest this summer. While McGregor had spent years out of the cage, was coming back after a devastating leg injury, had taken hits to his reputation, most notably involving a sexual assault case, and was trying for his first win against a former champ in over a decade, McGregor has remained one of UFC’s most prominent figures, and thus garnered a significant gate in Las Vegas.
McGregor’s last fight dated back to 2021, when a broken ankle caused him to lose within a round to Dustin Poirier. The Irish star spent years rehabbing the injury, exiting UFC’s anti-doping pool for two years so he could take performance-enhancing drugs. A follow-up New York Times report recently stated that, while McGregor has been tested by UFC’s program this year, he briefly continued to take the P.E.D.s after he finished the healing of his leg, describing that the drugs helped give him more energy.
McGregor’s time away from the cage most notably included him in Irish courtrooms, fighting a civil case where Dublin hairdresser Nikita Hand alleged that he violently raped her during a 2018 encounter. McGregor was found liable in the case and later lost his appeal.
The return of McGregor came with some surprising false starts. The 37-year-old had long teased a showdown against former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in years prior. They appeared as coaches on a 2023 season of The Ultimate Fighter to hype up the grudge match. Their showdown, which was scheduled for International Fight Week 2024, was cancelled after McGregor suffered a toe injury in training.
Saturday’s matchup saw McGregor try to get his first win since 2020, when he made quick work of famous MMA journeyman Donald Cerrone. He was facing someone he had history with, as McGregor took down Holloway 13 years ago as part of a UFC Fight Night card in Boston.
Instead of Saturday being the triumphant return of the Mac, it ended up being a bounce-back win for Hawaii’s Holloway. The 34-year-old, who has gained a reputation for competing in fan-friendly super-fights over the years, often for UFC’s bragging-rights “BMF” title, was coming back after losing a five-round showdown against Charles Oliveira just a few months back.
Bummed out following Saturday’s result, Holloway told fans that they can now at least look forward to a trilogy bout between him and McGregor. Fans at the T-Mobile Arena, many of whom paid over $1,500 to get in the building and watch the 69-second dud of a performance, sounded less than excited at the prospect.
