Conor McGregor has firmly denied any claims of entering his highly anticipated UFC 329 fight against Max Holloway with a pre-existing injury. The bout, held in Las Vegas on Saturday, ended abruptly after just over a minute when McGregor suffered a knee injury, forcing him to retire mid-fight. He expressed his shock on social media, stating:

This came out of nowhere.

The former two-weight world champion, who was returning to the octagon after a lengthy hiatus following a leg break against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, attempted a flying kick at the start but landed awkwardly. He sought referee intervention moments later, indicating he could not continue.

Social media users pointed to footage of McGregor arriving at the venue, where he appeared to step gingerly, as potential evidence of prior injury. However, the 37-year-old refuted these claims, asserting:

My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. I had no injury going into the fight. I was throwing kicks... all throughout camp.

Dana White, UFC’s president, supported McGregor's stance, emphasizing that if there had been an injury, it would have been noticeable during the pre-fight press conference or weigh-ins. He remarked, "He looked damn good at the press conference and he looked fine at the weigh-ins."

In the aftermath, Holloway expressed a desire to discuss a rematch with McGregor once he recovers, stating, "(There was) so much hype for that right there. We’ve got to run it back one more time."

McGregor's career has faced multiple setbacks, including his broken leg and a recent broken toe that led to the cancellation of a scheduled fight against Michael Chandler in June 2024. In addition, he faced legal issues and a subsequent ban for anti-doping violations.

In a notable co-main event, Paddy Pimblett also secured a quick victory, choking out Benoit Saint-Denis in under a minute. Holloway noted he had tried to stop the fight, showing concern for McGregor's condition during the bout.

Despite the nature of McGregor's injury, Holloway remains confident about selling a potential trilogy fight to fans, stating, "You can just push it as ‘he got an injury, wow, who cares.’"