Conor McGregor’s much-awaited UFC return against Max Holloway didn’t go in keeping with plan. At UFC 329 on Jul. 11, 2026, McGregor made his five-year-long return to the Octagon against his former rival, Holloway.
Nevertheless, just 69 seconds into the match, McGregor injured his ACL and was ruled out. After tweaking his knee early within the match, McGregor repeatedly fell before the referee ruled him unfit to compete. Expected to be an ACL injury, McGregor is now rumored to undergo an MRI, which is able to then reveal more details in regards to the setback.
After McGregor’s highly anticipated comeback didn’t deliver, Dustin Poirier identified his mistakes and called it out as karma. “It couldn’t have happened to a greater guy,” Dustin Poirier said on the Deep Waters podcast. “That injury couldn’t occur to a greater guy. I saw earlier this week, he said, ‘Karma’s a mirror,’ and it definitely is. This guy’s a dirtbag.”
“I don’t know if it was nervous energy, [but] I don’t know why you’ll start a fight like that [with that kick],” Poirier continued. “[McGregor’s team] are saying this was planned to start out the fight like that. There’s footage of him training to open the fight with this jump kick, but I just don’t understand why you’ll try this. That’s like a Hail Mary. You’re throwing a Hail Mary to start out a 25-minute fight. I don’t understand what was occurring with that.”
McGregor’s last match before Holloway was his 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, where the Irishman broke his shin bone. He was shortly after ruled out of motion with the injury. Following a lengthy recovery and multiple controversies, McGregor finally got here back against Holloway, only to get sidelined again. Alternatively, UFC legend Daniel Cormier believes McGregor won’t be returning.
Conor McGregor’s much-awaited UFC return against Max Holloway didn’t go in keeping with plan. At UFC 329 on Jul. 11, 2026, McGregor made his five-year-long return to the Octagon against his former rival, Holloway. Nevertheless, just 69 seconds into the match, McGregor injured his ACL and was ruled out.