Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 329 ended in a disastrous 69-second TKO loss to Max Holloway on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The bout was halted abruptly in the first round when McGregor suffered a catastrophic knee injury, forcing the referee to step in and end the main event.
Jake Paul quickly capitalized on the anti-climactic finish. The YouTuber and boxer posted a video to Instagram feebly kicking the air, letting out a screech while clutching his knee, and tumbling backward into a swimming pool. He captioned the post, “Recap for those who didn’t watch.” The stunt instantly went viral, drawing over 150,000 likes within four hours as fans reacted to the sudden outcome.
McGregor collapsed after throwing a single kick at Holloway. UFC CEO Dana White announced shortly after the fight that doctors strongly suspect McGregor suffered a torn ACL. The Irish fighter took to X to address the devastating loss.
“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed,” McGregor wrote. He explicitly denied any pre-existing issues leading into the matchup. “I had no injury/injuries going into the fight… This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here.”
The Las Vegas event marked McGregor’s first fight since July 2021, when he suffered a brutal broken left leg during his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. Saturday’s defeat extends his current winless streak to three consecutive fights. His last recorded victory happened over six years ago when he defeated Donald Cerrone in January 2020. Paul was not the only public figure tracking the 69-second finish; UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and musician Machine Gun Kelly also posted immediate reactions to the TKO on social media.