Conor McGregor describes being in 'beyond dark' place after UFC 329 injury

Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jul 12, 2026

Published in MMA

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An emotional Conor McGregor admitted he was having difficulty processing his loss to Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

“I am beyond dark here,” he posted on social media. “ I can only describe it as hell.”

McGregor appeared to suffer a right knee injury in the opening moments of his comeback bout when he landed awkwardly after sprinting across the cage and attempting a flying left kick.

He tried to continue, but slipped to the mat several times before the referee finally stepped in to award Holloway a TKO victory due to injury just 69 seconds into the bout.

It happened just more than five years after McGregor’s last competitive bout, which was also a TKO loss due to injury when he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier.

“My head gasket is gone,” McGregor wrote. “Destroyed. 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.”

Holloway said he would like a rematch once McGregor is healthy, but UFC president Dana White said it was too soon to make any decisions on future fights.

He said McGregor is awaiting testing, but the preliminary diagnosis from medical staff was a torn ACL.

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