Conor McGregor has provided his first comments about a surprising knee injury that prematurely ended his fight against Max Holloway on Saturday night.
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"My head gasket is gone," he posted on X. "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."
McGregor sustained the injury on Saturday night during the headline event of UFC 329. He entered the octagon to face Holloway, but he did not have an opportunity to pursue the win. The fight ended after barely more than 1 minute of action.
The Irishman started the match by trying to land a jumping scissor kick, but his knee buckled as he landed back on the mat. He fell to one knee before standing and attempting to land another kick.
This second attempt also resulted in McGregor falling to the mat. This time, Holloway jumped on top and began throwing punches.
They both returned to their feet about 30 seconds into the match, and McGregor threw some punches. However, he fell for a third time after his leg buckled.
The brief fight continued with him returning to his feet and facing off with Holloway once again. Although referee Mike Beltran then stepped in and stopped the fight after it became apparent that the veteran fighter had a significant leg injury.
McGregor is not the only person who shut down the notion that he had a preexisting injury. UFC CEO Dana White also faced questions about the possibility during a post-event press conference.
He told media members that "80 million people" had watched the UFC 329 weigh-ins and that no one noticed anything wrong with the fighter. White added that they believed the injury to be a "blown ACL."
