Knee injury ends Conor McGregor’s return 69 seconds into UFC 329 main event

Conor McGregor's highly anticipated return to the UFC ended in catastrophe at UFC 329 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. An apparent knee injury suffered just 69 seconds into the main event forced McGregor to withdraw, handing Max Holloway a technical knockout victory in disappointing fashion.

McGregor (22–7, 10–5 UFC) appeared to suffer the injury while attempting a jumping roundhouse kick early in the opening round. The awkward landing compromised his right leg, leaving him unable to put weight on it or continue fighting effectively. After collapsing multiple times and attempting to engage Holloway despite clear physical limitations, referee Mike Beltran stopped the bout at 1:09 of Round 1. It marked a grim end to McGregor's first UFC assignment in five years.

The co-main event saw a far more decisive finish. Paddy Pimblett (24–4, 8–1 UFC) submitted Benoit St. Denis (17–4, 9–4 UFC) via Peruvian necktie at 0:52 of Round 1. Pimblett weathered St. Denis' initial offensive burst, then punished an ill-advised takedown attempt by isolating the neck and maximizing torque until his opponent lost consciousness.

Mario Bautista avenged a 2019 submission loss to Cory Sandhagen with a unanimous decision (29–28 across all three judges) in their three-round bantamweight rematch. Bautista (18–3, 12–3 UFC) damaged Sandhagen's left leg with a kneebar attempt and dropped him with a sweeping left hook in the third. Brandon Royval rebounded from consecutive losses by submitting Lone'er Kavanagh (10–2, 3–2 UFC) via rear-naked choke at 3:40 of Round 3 in their flyweight bout. King Green (36–17–1, 17–12–1 UFC) capped the card by stopping Terrance McKinney (18–9, 8–6 UFC) with punches at 4:59 of Round 1, extending his win streak to four.