McGregor awaits scan results after UFC 329 stoppage and seeks to overturn Holloway's TKO victory
Conor McGregor has issued a new update on the right leg injury he suffered in the main event of UFC 329 against Max Holloway, held on July 11, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Irish fighter stated that he is awaiting the scan results before taking further medical steps, after already confirming that he will require surgery. The exact diagnosis had not been officially announced by July 16, so it remains unclear whether the injury involves the anterior cruciate ligament, the meniscus, or another type of knee damage. UFC chief Dana White said after the event that doctors suspected a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but stressed that he was not a doctor and that the scan would provide the final answer. At the same time, McGregor claims that the stoppage after only 69 seconds should not remain recorded as a technical knockout victory for Holloway, but instead as a no decision, or "no contest."
The official result has not changed so far. According to the UFC's records, Holloway won by technical knockout at 1:09 of the first round, bringing their head-to-head record level at one victory each. McGregor won their first meeting, held in 2013, by unanimous decision. This time, the fight did not have the opportunity to develop tactically because the Irishman's right leg gave way immediately after the opening attack. Although McGregor describes the injury as unusual and sudden, the fact that the fight continued, that Holloway landed legal strikes, and that the referee determined McGregor could no longer defend himself safely makes a change to the result unlikely under the rules applied in professional MMA.
The injury occurred in the opening seconds of the comeback fight
McGregor opened the fight aggressively, charging toward Holloway and attempting a jumping spinning kick with his left leg. According to the Associated Press report and footage of the fight, he awkwardly loaded his right knee upon landing, after which his stability immediately became questionable. He still tried to continue the exchange and launch several attacks, but ended up on the floor multiple times. Holloway then used legal ground strikes, while referee Mike Beltran monitored whether McGregor could intelligently defend himself and continue the fight. After another attempt to stand up, during which McGregor again lost his footing, Beltran stopped the bout.
Holloway later said that during the fight he had drawn the referee's attention to the fact that his opponent was injured. According to him, McGregor asked for the fight to continue, but it was becoming obvious that he could neither stand normally nor respond to the attacks. After the victory, the American expressed hope for his rival's speedy recovery, and his performance was not followed by the kind of celebration that usually comes after winning a major main event. Such an ending left open the question of what would have happened without the injury, but the official record does not assess a hypothetical development of the bout, only the circumstances at the moment of the stoppage.
UFC 329 was McGregor's first appearance in more than five years. His previous fight ended in July 2021, when he suffered a fracture of his left leg against Dustin Poirier and lost by technical knockout. His comeback against Holloway was therefore presented as a test following a long absence and a complex recovery, but it ended with another health problem, this time involving his right leg. After the event, McGregor rejected claims that he had entered the octagon already injured. He stated that during his preparations and immediately before the fight he had been able to perform kicks, jumps, and weight-bearing movements without any problems, and that the issue appeared suddenly.
Imaging must determine the extent of the damage before surgery
In his latest post, McGregor stated that he expected to receive the results of the leg scan on July 16, after which the details of the planned surgery and rehabilitation should become known. Several days earlier, he confirmed that he intended to undergo surgery, followed by a preparatory recovery phase and a return to training. ESPN reported that the fighter still plans to complete the final bout under his current contract with the UFC. However, without an official diagnosis, it is impossible to reliably determine how long he will be absent or when he could be ready to compete professionally again.
White's initial assessment of a possible anterior cruciate ligament injury remained only a preliminary suspicion. In his posts, McGregor also mentioned the possibility of a different type of damage, including a meniscus problem, but none of these possibilities has been medically confirmed publicly. The distinction is important because the type of procedure, the scope of rehabilitation, and the prognosis for his return depend on which knee structures have been damaged and whether there are additional injuries. For that reason, claims about the exact duration of his absence remain speculative. A more reliable timeline may only become known after the findings are released, the surgery is performed, and the first follow-up examinations take place.
The new problem places an additional burden on the late stage of McGregor's athletic career. As of July 16, he is 38 years old, has endured a long absence, and has now had two consecutive comeback stories marked by serious leg injuries. Despite that, he has not publicly announced his retirement. On the contrary, in his messages following UFC 329, he repeated that he intends to return and fulfil his contractual obligations. The final decision will probably depend not only on his desire, but also on medical assessments, the progress of his rehabilitation, and the willingness of the UFC and the relevant commission to license him to compete again.
Why McGregor is seeking a "no contest"
McGregor believes that Holloway did not directly cause the primary injury and that the result should be overturned because of the unusual stoppage. In his latest message, he requested that the official TKO victory be changed to a "no contest," and he also mentioned refunding bettors' stakes. His argument rests on the claim that the fight was cut short by a sudden physical failure rather than by Holloway's dominant technique or a strike that, by itself, ended the bout. Such an interpretation is understandable from the injured fighter's perspective, particularly because the fight lasted only slightly more than one minute. However, the sporting rules do not determine the outcome solely on the basis of the first moment when the injury occurred, but also according to what happened before the official stoppage.
After McGregor stumbled, Holloway continued attacking with legal strikes, and the referee stopped the fight only when he concluded that the Irishman could not continue effectively. That is crucial to the current classification of the result. The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts provide for a technical knockout when the referee stops a fight because a competitor is not intelligently defending himself or when a medical problem makes continuation impossible. A "no contest" is generally associated with an early stoppage caused by an accidental injury or accidental foul in circumstances where an insufficient portion of the fight has been completed for a technical decision. In this case, no foul by Holloway was recorded, and his strikes after the fall were part of legal fighting action.
For that reason, McGregor's request does not depend solely on whether he can prove that his knee gave way without a direct strike from Holloway. For the result to be changed, there would need to be a regulatory basis for concluding that the original decision misapplied the rules or that new facts had emerged that materially changed the official assessment. According to publicly available information, no such decision has been made, nor has the Nevada Athletic Commission announced that it is conducting proceedings to overturn the result. Until that happens, Holloway's technical knockout victory remains valid.
The UFC does not decide the result independently
Although McGregor is publicly directing his request toward the UFC and its leadership, the official result of a fight held in Las Vegas falls under the authority of the Nevada Athletic Commission. State regulations give that commission governing and regulatory authority over professional combat sports events in Nevada. The UFC maintains its own statistics, rankings, and contracts, but it cannot independently rewrite an official outcome established by a licensed referee and the regulatory body. Any potential amendment would therefore require a formal proceeding before the commission, not merely a decision by the promoter.
The rules distinguish injuries caused by legal action from injuries associated with an intentional or accidental foul. If an intentional foul immediately prevents the fight from continuing, the offender may be disqualified. If an accidental foul stops the fight before the required number of rounds has been completed, a "no contest" is possible; after a sufficient number of rounds, the result may be determined by a technical decision based on the judges' scorecards. No illegal strike was reported in the McGregor-Holloway fight, nor did the referee signal an accidental foul. The official ending followed the injury, the falls, and Holloway's legal strikes, which from a regulatory standpoint supports the existing TKO result.
That does not mean a change is legally or procedurally completely impossible. Fighters can challenge commission decisions, and regulatory bodies may review results when there has been a misapplication of the rules, a problem with the work of officials, prohibited conduct, or other demonstrable grounds. However, the mere fact that an athlete was injured during his own movement is usually not enough to overturn a defeat if the opponent acted legally and the stoppage occurred during active combat. For now, there is no public confirmation that McGregor has filed a formal appeal in Nevada, so his request remains primarily a form of public pressure and an expression of dissatisfaction.
An unusual connection to their first fight
McGregor and Holloway first met in August 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston. McGregor won by unanimous decision on that occasion, although he injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the bout. According to ESPN's report at the time, the injury kept him out of competition for approximately nine months. That detail was frequently highlighted before the rematch because both encounters ended with a serious knee problem for McGregor, but with completely different outcomes: in 2013, he managed to complete all three rounds, while in 2026, the injury occurred too early and was too severe for him to continue.
In the thirteen years between their fights, both men won UFC titles and became two of the most recognisable names of their generation. McGregor was champion in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, while Holloway held the featherweight title for years and built a reputation as a fighter with exceptional striking volume and durability. The rematch at UFC 329 took place in the welterweight division, at a limit of 170 pounds, significantly above the division in which they first met. The fight was therefore supposed to answer the question of how their skills and physical preparation had changed after more than a decade. Because of the stoppage after 69 seconds, that answer was not obtained.
After the bout, Holloway left open the possibility of a third meeting, which would settle their 1-1 sporting record. Such a scenario, however, is currently only a possibility. Before discussing a new opponent, McGregor must receive a final diagnosis, undergo surgery and rehabilitation, and prove that he can once again train and compete without an unacceptable level of risk. The UFC will also have to assess whether a trilogy makes sense in relation to the age, weight class, and sporting plans of both fighters. In the meantime, Holloway officially remains the winner of the rematch and can continue his own career without being required to wait for McGregor's recovery.
The most important question is no longer the statistical record
The debate over a "no contest" is attracting attention because it affects McGregor's win-loss record, Holloway's statistics, and the way the fight will be remembered. Nevertheless, the medical findings will have a far greater impact on the continuation of McGregor's career than a potential change to one entry in the official record. If a severe ligament injury is confirmed, rehabilitation will require a lengthy and controlled process, especially for an athlete who relies on explosive changes of direction, kicks, and stability during contact. If the damage is more limited, a shorter path back may be possible, but even then there is no guarantee that McGregor will quickly be licensed to fight again.
Until the findings are released, the most accurate description is a serious right knee injury whose precise nature has not yet been confirmed. McGregor has announced surgery and another comeback, White has relayed the doctors' initial suspicion of an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and Holloway is officially listed as the winner by technical knockout. The request to overturn the result currently has no publicly confirmed support from either the UFC or the Nevada Athletic Commission. The next concrete development should be the medical findings, after which it will become clearer how realistic McGregor's plan to complete one more UFC fight is and whether a serious discussion about a third meeting with Holloway can take place at all.
Sources:
- UFC - official UFC 329 event page and recorded result of the McGregor-Holloway fight (link)
- Associated Press - report on the course of the fight, the stoppage, Max Holloway's statements, and Dana White's initial assessment (link)
- talkSPORT - McGregor's latest update on the leg scan and his request to change the result (link)
- ESPN - confirmation of the planned surgery, his intention to return, and the final fight under his current UFC contract (link)
- Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports - Unified Rules of MMA concerning technical knockouts, injuries, fouls, and no contests (link)
- Nevada Legislature - regulations governing the authority of the Nevada Athletic Commission over combat sports events in the state of Nevada (link)
- ESPN - history of the first McGregor-Holloway fight and the knee injury suffered in 2013 (link)