Conor McGregor suffers early knee injury, loses to Max Holloway at UFC 329

Conor McGregor, right, jumps into the air for a kick as he fights Max Holloway in a welterweight fight at the UFC 329 mixed martial arts event Saturday, July 11, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 ended at just 1:09 of the first round Saturday night because of a knee injury.

Fighting for the first time in more than five years, McGregor flew across the ring with a flying left roundhouse kick when the match started and landed awkwardly on his right knee.

After attempting to kick and strike Holloway (28-9-0) two more times, it was clear McGregor (22-7-0) couldn’t finish the scheduled five-round welterweight bout.

READ: Conor McGregor confident for Max Holloway rematch in UFC return

Max Holloway defeats Conor McGregor by TKO in Round 1#UFC329 pic.twitter.com/52BnFWgeh2

— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2026

Holloway closed a -300 favorite at Bet MGM Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have to lay $300 to win $100. McGregor was a +240 underdog, which means a bettor would win $240 with a $100 wager on the Irishman.

McGregor, who strolled to the ring to the sounds of Notorious Biggie Smalls’ “Hypnotize” and the roar of the sold-out crowd, last fought exactly five years and a day before Saturday night.

To the delight of a frenzied audience just hours after his home country of England won its quarterfinal match over Norway in the World Cup, Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett (24-4-0) made quick work of Benoit Saint Denis (17-4-0) with a first-round TKO. Pimblett, who closed a +120 underdog, blocked a roundkick, shot in and quickly applied a front headlock to put Saint Denis to sleep for the win in 52 seconds.

READ: Conor McGregor to make UFC return with Max Holloway rematch

In a bantamweight battle, Mario Bautista (18-3-0) defeated Cory Sandhagen (18-7-0) by unanimous decision, after taking advantage of a first-round leg kick and applying pressure in each round after. A flurry of punches in the third round secured the decision.

In a scheduled three-round flyweight bout, Brandon Royval (18-9-0) applied a rear-naked choke on Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2-0) to win by submission at the 3:40 mark of the final round.

In an absolute shocker to start the main card, a bloodied King Green (36-17-0) overcame a beating for nearly the entire first round before landing a right hand to the jaw of Terrance McKinney (18-9-0) with roughly 20 seconds left, and then finished him off for a TKO at the 4:59 mark.