Conor McGregor is suspected to have blown his right ACL at UFC
329. | 📷: Getty/UFC

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Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana
White has weighed in on Conor
McGregor's injury at
UFC 329 in Las Vegas.

McGregor seemingly landed in an awkward manner while going for a
kick in the opening seconds of his rematch with Max
Holloway. He then struggled to stay upright, prompting the
referee to call a halt to the bout. White told reporters that he
suspects McGregor's ACL gave out but revealed that he hadn't spoken
to the Irish fighter yet.

“Listen, everybody who knows anything about the fight business, and
it’s been a big topic of discussion up to this fight: five years
off in this sport is rough,†White said at the post-fight press
conference. “I was expecting at least a one-round war, or who knew
what Conor was capable of as far as cardio or whatever else after a
five-year layoff. Well, there you go. We’re assuming a blown ACL.
I’m no doctor, but that’s what I figured when I saw it. Doctors
think the same thing, too.â€

Dana White says Conor McGregor is believed to have suffered an
ACL injury at UFC 329

White further added that they will find out more about the injury
after the MRI. Notably, McGregor suffered a torn ACL in his first
fight against Holloway back in 2013. Furthermore, the UFC 329
broadcast highlighted “Notorious†taking an awkward step before
entering the Octagon, wincing after a short jump. White also denied
any knowledge of McGregor potentially entering the fight with an
injury.

“If there was a pre-exiting injury, somebody would've noticed it,â€
he added.

McGregor has also clarified that he was fit before the bout.

“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. I had no injury/injuries going
into the fight,†the former two-division champion wrote in a new
statement on X. “I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all
throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came
out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as
hell.â€

My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. I had no
injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks,
planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage
before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here.
I can only describe it as hell.

— Conor
McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA)
July 12, 2026

An apparent knee injury snuffed out whatever magic Conor
McGregor planned to rekindle in his first
Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment in five years.

Max
Holloway was awarded an anticlimactic technical knockout over
the SBG Ireland cornerstone in the first round of their
UFC 329 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A
disappointed and dejected McGregor (22-7, 10-5 UFC)—who had beaten
the Hawaiian by unanimous decision in their first meeting in
2013—bowed out 1:09 into Round 1.

It was essentially over before it began. McGregor appeared to
suffer the injury while throwing a jumping round kick inside the
first 10 seconds. He collapsed on multiple occasions afterward,
unable to put any weight on his right leg while he attempted to
engage Holloway (28-9, 24-9 UFC).
It soon became clear to all involved that McGregor was compromised
to such an extent that he could not move forward with the
match.

Meanwhile, former Cage Warriors champion Paddy
Pimblett put Benoit St.
Denis to sleep with a Peruvian necktie in the first round of
their lightweight co-main event.
St. Denis (17-4, 9-4 UFC) lost consciousness 52 seconds into Round
1.

Pimblett (24-4, 8-1 UFC) survived the initial burst of offense from
the Frenchman and made him pay for an ill-conceived takedown
attempt. The Next Generation MMA star zeroed in on St. Denis'
exposed neck, bullied him to the canvas and proceeded to tighten
the strings on the necktie. Pimblett then moved to a seated
position—with one leg over the back, the other over the head—and
maximized torque until the onetime French Special Forces operator
lost his grip on reality.

It was the second sub-minute finish for Pimblett in 28 professional
appearances.

Further down the main draw, Mario
Bautista avenged a January 2019 submission defeat to Cory
Sandhagen and laid claim to a unanimous decision over the
Elevation Fight Team rep in their three-round bantamweight rematch.
All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Bautista
(18-3, 12-3 UFC).

Sandhagen (18-7, 11-6 UFC) was undone by two key moments. Bautista
appeared to damage his left leg with an attempted Suloev stretch
kneebar late in the first round and dropped him with a sweeping
left hook in the third. The rest of their 15-minute battle was
marked by give-and-take action—Sandhagen opened a cut near the MMA
Lab export's right eye in the second round—in which neither man
gained a discernible advantage.

Bautista, 33, has won 10 of his past 11 bouts.

Elsewhere, Factory X mainstay Brandon
Royval rebounded from back-to-back losses to Joshua Van
and Manel Kape,
as he dismissed Lone'er
Kavanagh with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their
flyweight barnburner.
Kavanagh (10-2, 3-2 UFC) waved the white flag of surrender 3:40
into Round 3.

Royval (18-9, 8-5 UFC) leaned into his jab and struck for a
takedown in the first round, then averted disaster in the second.
There, Kavanagh set him on rubber legs with a clean right hand over
the top, pushed him to the canvas and cut loose with vicious
elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Royval called upon his extensive
experience, regained his faculties and hit the reset button ahead
of the third round. The onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion
fought fire with fire, shed an ill-advised guillotine choke from
Kavanagh, set up in top position and paired ground-and-pound with
repeated submission attempts. Royval eventually settled on the
rear-naked choke, snaked his arms into place and let his squeeze
finish the job.

It was Royval's first submission win since May 7, 2022.

Finally, former King of the Cage champion King Green
rallied to stop Terrance
McKinney with punches in the first round of their lightweight
appetizer. In the midst of a late-career resurgence,

Green (36-17-1, 17-12-1 UFC) drew the curtain 4:59 into Round
1.

McKinney (18-9, 8-6 UFC) dominated virtually every second of the
match. He opened multiple cuts on Green's face, swarmed him with
fast-twitch punches, secured a takedown and climbed to full mount.
McKinney then applied his ground-and-pound and appeared to be
within reach of another first-round finish but allowed his Pinnacle
MMA-trained counterpart to escape to his feet. Green took advantage
of the window of opportunity, pinned the Fusion X-Cel rep to the
fence, connected with punches to the body and forced him into a
defensive shell at the base of the cage. More punches followed,
prompting referee Kerry Hatley to intervene.

Green, who turns 40 in September, has rattled off four straight
wins.

Continue Reading »
UFC 329 Prelims: Robert Whittaker, Adrian Yanez, Luke Riley shine
on finish-filled undercard

Bucking a trend that has become beyond familiar to those that watch
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Paramount+ in the U.S.,
Dustin
Poirier was not featured in Bud Light's commercials during

UFC 329.

Poirier (30-10) was recently arrested at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport for public drunkenness. The former UFC
interim lightweight champion threatened to fight and used a racial
slur directed at a police officer after being denied permission to
board his flight for being intoxicated. He has been charged with a
misdemeanor and is currently out on bail.

Poirier subsequently opened up about his mental issues while
addressing the incident. “The Diamond†also revealed that he lost a
major sponsor and several business deals in the aftermath of his
arrest. There were also rumors of Bud Light canceling Poirier's
sponsorship.

Dustin Poirier absent from the latest Bud Light ad

While Poirier's official sponsorship status with Bud Light is
unknown, he wasn't in its latest commercial, which aired during the
UFC 329 broadcast and featured only Bruce Buffer, unlike previous
ad spots from the beverage brand.

Sean
Strickland had initially criticized Poirier's mental health
struggles. However, Strickland then apologized to the UFC
fan-favorite after claiming to have talked with him and learned
more about his mental state. The former middleweight champion had
also warned Bud Light against dropping Poirier's sponsorship.

Sean
Strickland just blasted Bud Light after he heard they could
drop Dustin
Poirier

“That is the most un-American f*cking thing you can do. At his
lowest time, you contemplate letting him go? Bud Light, stand by
him and help him. That's f*cking American.†pic.twitter.com/niFXaQ0zEC

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch)
July 8, 2026

Bud Light has officially REMOVED Dustin
Poirier from their commercial @budlight you made
a huge mistake
pic.twitter.com/idCLjugXMr
https://t.co/MEhGhnFBma

— Combat Casuals (@Combat_Casuals)
July 12, 2026