Jake Paul mocks McGregor as knee injury ends UFC 329 comeback after 66 seconds

Conor McGregor’s five-year comeback was over almost before it began at UFC 329, when a knee injury suffered 66 seconds into his fight against Max Holloway forced referee Mike Beltran to wave off the contest and hand Holloway the victory.

McGregor, who had spent years recovering from a broken leg sustained in his 2021 bout with Dustin Poirier, threw a jumping roundhouse kick that ended with his knee visibly giving way. He attempted to fight on, but was unable to get back to his feet properly, leaving Beltran with no option but to stop the fight.

The full severity of the injury has not yet been confirmed, though the manner of it immediately raised questions about whether McGregor will compete again at the highest level.

Jake Paul, who had spent considerable time over the past few years calling out McGregor and attempting to arrange a boxing match, seized on the moment almost immediately. Paul posted a video of himself performing a mock “replay” of the injury — grabbing his knee and falling into a swimming pool — in what amounted to a public celebration of McGregor’s misfortune.

The two have had a fractious relationship for years, with Paul repeatedly targeting McGregor as a potential opponent while critics noted the Irishman was among the bigger names Paul pursued. Those negotiations never materialised into a fight, but Paul rarely passed up an opportunity to take aim at McGregor in the interim.

McGregor’s return had been one of the most anticipated events in recent MMA history. The former two-weight UFC champion had not competed in the promotion since that July 2021 defeat to Poirier, and his comeback had been built up over an extended period as he worked his way back from the leg fracture he suffered that night in Las Vegas.

The abrupt end to his return at UFC 329 leaves his future deeply uncertain, with no official word yet on the diagnosis or a potential recovery timeline.