Kamaru Usman Says He Felt Empathy for Conor McGregor After 69-Second Loss to Max Holloway

Kamaru Usman said he felt empathy for Conor McGregor after the 38-year-old suffered a right knee injury moments into a 69-second TKO loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329 last Saturday. McGregor fought for the first time in five years. The injury occurred when he attempted an ambitious running kick at the start of the rematch.

Usman, 39, returns from a 13-month layoff on Saturday to headline a UFC Fight Night card in Oklahoma City against Dricus du Plessis. The five-round bout at 185 pounds is Usman's second fight in the last 33 months. Usman holds a 21-4 record while du Plessis stands at 23-3.

Usman told CBS Sports on Tuesday that he saw online backlash directed at McGregor. "I saw a lot of the backlash online and kind of how people were going at him," Usman said. "It's a tough thing to do and I remember watching at home and going, 'This could either go really well or really bad.

I could kind of feel Conor's spirit as he was warming up backstage. " "It's about the worst that could've happened," Usman added. " Usman said few people could grasp what McGregor faces. "No one, unless you are a fighter of [McGregor's] caliber or that magnitude, unless you have been in a situation like that, it's very, very difficult to truly understand what he's going through and what he's about to go through in these dark days," he said.

"I don't think that is what he wanted. " Usman has dealt with his own injuries, including a torn hand ligament in 2022, double hernia surgery in 2019, and chronic knee issues that date to microfracture surgery before his 2015 UFC debut. He won his first 15 UFC bouts between 2015 and 2021 and made five defenses of the 170-pound title.

A fifth-round knockout loss to Leon Edwards in 2022 began a three-fight losing streak. Usman won a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley in June 2025. McGregor released a statement on social media Monday saying he will seek surgery and rehab.