CONOR MCGREGOR ANNOUNCES SURGERY AFTER UFC 329 INJURY

"The Notorious" Wrote On Social Media About The Injury And His Plans For The Future

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor announced he’ll undergo surgery following a knee injury sustained during the main event of UFC 329.

McGregor ended a five-year hiatus when he returned to the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena on July 11. But his main event fight with former featherweight and BMF champion Max Holloway lasted just 69 seconds when a knee injury sustained in the bout’s opening seconds proved too much to overcome and referee Mike Beltran was forced to wave off the contest.

Immediately following the bout, McGregor shared an update to his followers on social media.

“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed,” he wrote on X.

“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.”

McGregor continued and directly addressed suggestions online that he was carrying an injury into the bout.

“I was so sharp and so ready for this fight, I cannot believe what has happened,” he wrote.

“The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense. I was calm, ready, and confident. I am in shock what has taken place. The devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow.”

McGregor then defiantly declared that he will fight back from his latest injury setback to return to the Octagon again.

“I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return.”

Speaking to reporters backstage at the UFC 329 post-fight press conference, UFC President and CEO Dana White offered his thoughts on McGregor’s situation.

“Listen, everybody who knows anything about the fight business – and it’s been a big topic of discussion leading up to this fight – five years off, in this sport, is rough,” he said.

“Who knew what Conor was capable of as far as cardio, or whatever else, after a five-year layoff. And, well, there you go.

“We’re assuming [he sustained a] blown ACL. I’m no doctor, but that’s what I figured when I saw it, and the doctors think the same thing, too.”

Conor McGregor is consoled by Bruce Buffer after suffering a loss against Max Holloway in a welterweight fight during the UFC 329 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, NV (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

White said he wasn’t sure what the future held for McGregor, but he didn’t have to wait long for “The Notorious” to make clear his plans as the Irishman posted an update to his Instagram on Monday.

“Surgery. Prehab. Return to martial arts practice. Go again,” he wrote on X.

- SIMON HEAD, ON X: @SIMONHEADSPORT

'WHAT YOU DON'T SEE...' - DOCTOR BREAKS DOWN FULL EXTENT OF CONOR MCGREGOR'S INJURY AGAINST MAX HOLLOWAY

 McGregor's UFC return ended with a knee injury after just 69 seconds.

A doctor has explained the diagnostic details that might have been missed amid speculation over the extent of Conor McGregor's knee injury in his comeback fight in Las Vegas.

McGregor 'blew out' his knee right at the beginning of his welterweight main event against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday.

The Irishman appeared to injure himself while attempting his first high kick of the fight, which was subsequently awarded to Holloway by technical knockout after just 69 seconds.

McGregor now faces a spell on the sidelines after a five-year hiatus. Holloway promised that McGregor vs Holloway 3 will appear on a future card, acknowledging the unsatisfying manner of the conclusion.

The injured fighter will undergo scans to confirm the extent of his injury, which commentators immediately identified as a potential rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

If that proves to be the case, the 37-year-old can expect to be out of action for several months.

Dr Brian Stutterer is the expert behind a YouTube channel through which he assesses the medical stories that occur in the world of sport and he has been analysing the footage of the abortive UFC 329 bout.

"The commentators were talking about it looked like [McGregor] blew out his knee," said Sutterer in a six-minute video that forensically examines the moments leading up to Holloway's TKO victory.

"I will admit, yes, this position looks like the classic position that you will see with an ACL tear in terms of the rotation of how the foot is externally rotated, the idea that we see a little bit of the knee going inward, the trunk is leaning over his injured side.

Nevertheless, Stutterer offered some reason for doubt about the specific nature of the injury, which UFC head honcho indicated could be an ACL tear, but Stutterer has pointed out can be hastily evaluated even by the UFC's own medical staff at ringside. Only a scan will confirm the reality.

"But what you don't see on this injury is the classic pivot shift that you will sometimes see with an ACL tear," he added.

"Now that doesn't mean that this is not an ACL tear, but you at least don't see that stereotypic kind of pathognomonic shift forward of the tibia and then pop backwards like we would if you could confirm 100% that this was an ACL."

Will McGregor pursue another comeback?

While Holloway said after the fight that the appetite is there to go again after one win each in two McGregor vs Holloway fights, 13 years apart, there has to be some doubt over the 37-year-old's desire to get himself back into the kind of shape that would be required to actually win it.

Saturday's brief appearance was McGregor's first in the octagon since 2021 and marked a third consecutive defeat after back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier.

McGregor's third consecutive loss dropped him to a 22-7 career record. He hasn't won two in a row since the end of 2016, when he won the UFC lightweight championship by beating Eddie Alvarez.

He lost the belt to Khabib Nurmagomedov by submission two years later.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images

- Chris Nee