Knee injury ends McGregor's UFC return just 69 seconds into Holloway main event

Conor McGregor’s first UFC appearance in five years ended in heartbreak at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, when an apparent knee injury forced a technical knockout stoppage just 1:09 into his main event clash with Max Holloway at UFC 329. Holloway was awarded the win as McGregor, unable to bear weight on his right leg, could not continue.

The injury appeared to occur within the opening 10 seconds when McGregor attempted a jumping round kick. He collapsed on multiple occasions thereafter, and it quickly became clear to his corner and the referee that he was too compromised to fight on. McGregor, now 22-7 overall and 10-5 in the UFC, had beaten Holloway by unanimous decision in their first meeting back in 2013. Holloway improves to 28-9 with a 24-9 UFC record.

In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett delivered one of the night’s most emphatic finishes, submitting Benoit St. Denis with a Peruvian necktie just 52 seconds into the first round of their lightweight bout. Pimblett survived an early offensive burst from the Frenchman before capitalising on a poorly executed takedown attempt, dragging St. Denis to the canvas and locking in the choke until the former French Special Forces operator lost consciousness. It was the second sub-minute finish of Pimblett’s 24-4 professional career.

Further down the card, Mario Bautista settled old scores with a unanimous decision over Cory Sandhagen in their bantamweight rematch, avenging a submission loss from January 2019. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Bautista, who improves to 18-3. Bautista appeared to damage Sandhagen’s left leg with a kneebar attempt late in the first round and dropped him with a sweeping left hook in the third, proving the decisive moments in an otherwise competitive 15-minute contest. Bautista has now won 10 of his last 11 fights.

In flyweight action, Brandon Royval bounced back from consecutive losses to Joshua Van and Manel Kape by submitting Lone’er Kavanagh with a rear-naked choke 3:40 into the third round. Royval, now 18-9, mixed sharp jabbing with takedown pressure throughout before sealing the finish in the championship rounds.