Sean
Strickland posted a controversial theory on Conor McGregor's UFC
329 injury. | 📷: Getty/UFC

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Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Sean
Strickland doesn't think Conor
McGregor was injured going into
UFC 329.

McGregor's return to action after five years against Max
Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday ended in anticlimactic fashion.
“Notorious†blew his right knee with the first kick he attempted,
leading to a stoppage loss hardly over a minute into the first
round. Strickland has now weighed in on the Irishman's injury.

Sean Strickland questions Conor McGregor's knee injury after
UFC 329 loss

While Strickland doesn't want to jump to conclusions, he wonders
whether McGregor's injury could have been triggered by steroid use.
He claims to have seen several steroid users' bodies get fragile
with time.

“Im not saying this is it….. but every homie I have that has done
steroids for too long their bodies become so fragile,†Strickland
wrote on X. “Im not saying thats why but…. it does weaken
everything…â€

There's much ongoing speculation regarding whether McGregor was
already injured going into the fight. Notably, the broadcast
pointed out that he winced and slightly stumbled while removing his
shoes before entering the Octagon. However, Strickland believes
“Notorious†wouldn't have started with a kick if he was already
injured.

“Thats what im saying… if you’re injured you’re protecting your
injury to make it through the fight,†he wrote in another post,
before adding, “No. He wouldn’t of sent a kick like that if he was
hurt. I know from experience.â€

McGregor (22-7) is the UFC's most tested athlete of 2026 by far.
However, the former two-division champion was off the UFC's testing
pool while he was recovering from his leg injury suffered in his
trilogy loss against Dustin
Poirier in 2021. There were also issues with McGregor's drug
testing protocol when he was expected to return in 2023-24. His
drug testing reportedly played a major role in the UFC's split with
its former anti-doping partner, USADA, in 2024.

Im not saying this is it ….. but every
homie I have that has done steroids for too long their bodies
become so fragile…

Im not saying thats why but…. it does weaken everything…

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 12, 2026

Thats what im saying… if youre injured
youre protecting your injury to mske it through the fight

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 12, 2026

No. He wouldn’t of sent a kick like that if
he was hurt. I know from experience

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 12, 2026

Dana
White is livid with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's production team for getting
celebrities' names wrong on the broadcast.

Four-division boxing champion and Zuffa Boxing's latest signing,
Shakur Stevenson, was in attendance at
UFC 329 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However,
when Stevenson was shown on screen, a lower third had him captioned
as NBA player Jalen
Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. White later slammed the
UFC's production team for the mix-up.

Shakur Stevenson and Jalen Williams react to mix-up at UFC
329

White notes that his production team, which he is usually immensely
proud of, just hosted a monumental event on the South Lawn of the
White House last month. However, the UFC CEO believes his
production team is the worst in all sports when it comes to
showcasing celebrities at UFC events.

“My production team, we just did the White House. We built an arena
on the South Lawn of the White House, and it was the greatest thing
in the world to be there live and to watch it on TV,†White said at
the UFC 329 post-fight press conference. “I just paid Shakur
Stevenson a sh*tload of money, and for some reason, we can’t figure
this celebrity sh*t out. They put him up as a f*cking OKC NBA
player. Are you f*cking kidding me? But we are the absolute worst
to ever do the celebrity thing. When we put celebrities up, we are
the worst.â€

Stevenson enjoyed White's rant, posting on X, “Yea Dana,†followed
by a laughing and fire emoji. Williams also took the incident in
good stead and couldn't help cracking a few jokes. The NBA champion
wrote on his Instagram Stories, “Ehh close enough,†before
accepting lifetime free ringside tickets to UFC events as a token
of apology.

Dana White was not happy that Zuffa's latest
signing Shakur Stevenson was presented as NBA player Jalen
Williams on last night’s UFC broadcast 😳 pic.twitter.com/ro4zIwoDtD

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine)
July 12, 2026

Yea Dana 😂🔥
#FireTheyAss https://t.co/3opexAShWa

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson)
July 12, 2026

Tom
Aspinall is targeting September's UFC Paris card for a return to
the Octagon. | 📷: Getty/UFC

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Fans can expect
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Tom
Aspinall back in the Octagon soon.

Aspinall has been out of action recovering from an eye injury he
suffered against Ciryl Gane
(14-2) at UFC
321 in October of last year. The bout ended in a no contest
after Gane simultaneously poked the Englishman in both eyes in the
first round. Aspinall is now gearing up for his return.

Tom Aspinall ready to fight again, but UFC relationship remains
a storyline

Aspinall (15-3) recently revealed that he is ready to fight again.
The Brit claims to have informed the promotion that he is ready to
return and is eyeing the UFC
Paris card in September.

“We’ve let the UFC know that we’re ready to go and we’re just
waiting for dates,†Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “We’ve
just literally told them we can do it in Paris. We told them we can
do it wherever they want. So, we’re just waiting for them to let us
know. It’s down to the UFC.â€

Notably, Aspinall had a falling out with the UFC, unhappy with how
the aftermath played out and with some of Dana White's comments. He
then onboarded boxing promoter Eddie Hearn as an advisor, further
souring the relationship between himself and White.

Gane won the interim title for a second time at
UFC Freedom 250 by defeating Alex
Pereira, setting up a rematch with Aspinall. The UFC's next
event in Paris is slated for Sept. 5.