McGregor's coach says right knee 'never an issue'
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- John Kavanagh wrote on Facebook Sunday that McGregor's right knee was "never an issue," saying the opening jump switch kick "was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup" before UFC 329.
- Conor McGregor suffered a loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas when his right knee appeared to buckle after he threw a kick, with the welterweight bout waved off after just 69 seconds.
- UFC CEO Dana White said he and UFC doctors believed the injury was likely a torn ACL — the same injury McGregor suffered in 2013 — and said he did not believe McGregor went into the fight hurt.
- White pointed to McGregor's behavior during news conferences and the weigh-in faceoff (where he ran up on Holloway) as evidence no preexisting injury was visible, noting 80 million people watched on his account alone.
- McGregor had not fought in five years before Saturday, with his previous bout a July 2021 TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in which he broke his left leg in the first round.
- McGregor, 37, has denied preexisting-injury speculation on social media and has not revealed the exact extent of the damage.
Why it matters: For a 37-year-old coming off a five-year layoff and now facing his second ACL tear, the nature of the injury shapes how the UFC and fans evaluate whether McGregor can return at all — but both his head coach and UFC CEO publicly closed ranks on the preexisting-injury theory, with White citing McGregor's pre-fight aggression and 80 million viewers as the proof.
