McGregor blasts Holloway for seeking stoppage at UFC 329 and vows retribution on return

Conor McGregor has publicly criticised Max Holloway for calling on the referee to halt their UFC 329 rematch, insisting the fight had barely started when the stoppage came 69 seconds in after McGregor ruptured his knee.

McGregor made his long-awaited return to the octagon this past summer, ending a five-year absence to face Holloway in the UFC 329 main event. The night unravelled almost immediately when McGregor blew out his knee attempting a jumping kick in the opening moments, forcing a stoppage before the fight had truly begun.

Speaking on Robert O’Neill’s MAC Energy YouTube channel, McGregor explained the thinking behind the high-risk opening move. “I had the shot. I was landing it perfectly in training,” he said. “My sparring partners were coming forward. It was wa-bum! And I just had it in my head, ‘I don’t care when this bell rings. Last time I was in this octagon, the leg snapped in half. I’m gonna run forward and charge and fly across the octagon and crack him in the jaw.’” He acknowledged the lapse in his usual calculated approach, adding: “Usually I have my weapons in tow, and I’ll go in, and I’ll see, and I’ll say, ‘Right, there’s weapon one, boom.’ That’s how I should have done. I’m out five years; it is what it is.”

McGregor reserved particular frustration for Holloway’s conduct during the stoppage. “It wasn’t me that was calling for the finish of the fight,” he said. “If I fight you and you look for the ref, ‘Ref! Stop the fight!’ — who stops the fight? Don’t stop! Finish the f*cking fight! You’re the man calling for the fight to be stopped. The fight’s only began.”

Despite the setback, McGregor insists his recovery is progressing ahead of schedule. He has already undergone successful surgery on the knee, with swelling down and crutches discarded earlier than his medical team anticipated. “The baby needs to gel back together,” he said, while noting that advances in medicine and training methods should accelerate his timeline compared to a similar injury he suffered roughly a decade ago.

An estimated return next summer remains the target, and McGregor is clear about what is motivating him. “I yearn for retribution,” he said. “It drives me on. I have this journey. I have this task ahead of me. I have the title of the greatest comeback in sports history.”

Whether a third meeting with Holloway materialises will depend on McGregor’s recovery holding to schedule and the UFC’s matchmaking plans for 2026.