McGregor loses to Holloway in 69 seconds after knee injury at UFC 329

Conor McGregor suffered a right knee injury 69 seconds into his welterweight bout against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11, 2026, ending the fight before it reached the second round. McGregor flew across the ring with a flying left roundhouse kick at the opening bell and landed awkwardly on his right knee.

He attempted two more kicks and strikes before it became clear he could not continue the scheduled five-round fight.

Injury and medical assessment McGregor posted on social media that his “head gasket is gone. Destroyed” and that he had no prior injury entering the fight. ” UFC President Dana White said doctors assumed a blown ACL and noted there were no visible signs of injury at the ceremonial weigh-in the previous day.

White added that the millions of social-media views of the weigh-in would have shown any pre-existing problem.

Holloway’s response Holloway told reporters he repeatedly asked referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight once McGregor’s demeanor changed. He said he hoped for a speedy recovery for his opponent. Holloway improved to 28-9-0 while McGregor fell to 22-7-0. McGregor last fought exactly five years and one day before the event.

Other results on the card Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett defeated Benoit Saint Denis by first-round TKO at 52 seconds. Mario Bautista beat Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision in a bantamweight bout. Brandon Royval submitted Lone’er Kavanagh with a rear-naked choke at 3:40 of the third round in a flyweight contest.

King Green overcame an early beating to knock out Terrance McKinney with a right hand at 4:59 of the first round.