Conor McGregor Gives Official Update On Knee Injury Suffered In Holloway Rematch
Following UFC 329, the public has spent the last week wondering in the dark about the severity to which Conor McGregor injured his leg in his main event comeback match against Max Holloway. Now, the MMA community has received the official update from the Irishman, who seems optimistic about returning to the octagon once again.
In what was considered one of the most anticipated returns in recent UFC history, McGregor vs. Holloway 2 was unable to live up to the hype, with the returning former two-division champion suffering a leg injury in the very first round.
Max Holloway defeats Conor McGregor by TKO in Round 1#UFC329 pic.twitter.com/52BnFWgeh2
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2026
Not only was it the first round of the fight when McGregor was forced to retire for the evening, but upon reviewing the video, UFC commentators realized it was during the very first strike of the fight that that caused the injury. Right as the round began, McGregor came forward, teeming with adrenaline, and threw an unconventional jumping roundhouse kick. When he came down from the jumping attack, he landed with his knee at an awkward angle, and immediately showed signs of extreme pain.
Between the broken ankle suffered in 2021 against Dustin Poirier, then the less serious broken toe that occurred in training and led to the cancellation of his Michael Chandler matchup in 2024, and now an injury to his knee that spoiled the long awaited five year comeback fight that barely came to fruition, most are feeling the nails are in the coffin for McGregor’s UFC career. But in the update he posted to social media on Sunday, July 19th, he seemed very optimistic and is confident he will return to action by summer 2027.
McGregor explained in his post that the injury suffered by his jumping kick at the start of the Holloway match earlier this month resulted in a torn ACL and meniscus. Ironically, he faced the same injury following his first fight with Holloway back in 2013 and was back in the cage after just nine months.
Update: It was acl and meniscus. It is the same injury as the first Holloway fight, only this time the opposite leg. Quite shocking. I returned to competition within 9 months to fight Diego Brandao back then. With today’s regenerative medicine advancements and improved training… pic.twitter.com/2Me14ayIgh
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 19, 2026
Update: It was acl and meniscus. It is the same injury as the first Holloway fight, only this time the opposite leg. Quite shocking. I returned to competition within 9 months to fight Diego Brandao back then. With today’s regenerative medicine advancements and improved training methods it is well within my realm to return by next summer. I am walking without a crutch. I done leg extension machine work the other day to no issue. So I can walk without aid, and activate my quad under resistance. All very positive. I am maximum discipline and have maintained it fully since the bout. I wonder was I saved from something worse here. I believe so. I would have attended the after party as “the man” and who knows then. I believe I was saved.
Thank you God!
On we go, no sad stories. Thank you for the support and well wishes everyone, your health is your wealth ❤️🙏