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
