Conor McGregor seems on in a welterweight bout towards Max Holloway (not pictured) throughout UFC 329 at T-Cellular Area, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, July 11, 2026. — Reuters
Within the extremely anticipated UFC 329 welterweight important occasion, Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon resulted in catastrophe as he sustained one other extreme leg harm, leading to a TKO stoppage towards Max Holloway at 1:09 of the primary spherical on Saturday night time from T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas.
After slipping a number of instances early within the opening body, Eire’s McGregor (22-7 MMA) sustained the harm in his proper leg when touchdown whereas making an attempt the left-footed kick, his first of the bout.
It introduced an abrupt, stunning halt to his first UFC combat in 5 years, along with his final combat towards Dustin Poirier in July 2021 additionally ended by McGregor sustaining a proper leg harm, that point a damaged tibia which resulted in a physician’s stoppage.
Holloway (28-9), a local of Honolulu, mentioned he did not suppose the combat had actually began and known as for a trilogy as soon as McGregor is again to full well being. McGregor exited the Octagon instantly and walked backstage with out being interviewed, leaving extra questions than solutions about his future as he is set to show 38 on Tuesday.
“We got to run it back” a visibly pissed off Holloway mentioned. “One more time. One more time for the boys.”
Within the light-weight co-main occasion, England’s Paddy Pimblett defeated Benoit Saint Denis of France by way of submission (D’arce choke) 52 seconds into the primary spherical.
Pimblett (24-4) secured the spectacular victory by initially leaping a guillotine earlier than seamlessly flipping Saint-Denis (17-4, 1 NC) over to lock within the fight-ending choke.
Bantamweight contender Mario Bautista secured a vital victory, defeating former title challenger Cory Sandhagen by unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to place himself for a possible title shot.
Whereas the bout was largely uneventful, Bautista (18-3) put the ending touches on the combat with a decisive third-round knockdown to avenge his 2019 short-notice loss in his UFC debut. Sandhagen (18-7) appeared to have sustained a knee harm throughout a floor transition within the combat, although the harm stays unconfirmed.
In flyweight motion, Brandon Royval (18-9) survived immense early adversity to safe a spectacular submission victory, defeating England’s Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2) by way of rear-naked choke at 3:39 of Spherical 3. Regardless of being dropped a number of instances in an unbelievable back-and-forth struggle, Royval rallied within the last body to lock within the choke and pressure the faucet.
Within the light-weight main-card opener, King Inexperienced (36-17-1, 1 NC) delivered one of the spectacular buzzer-beater comebacks in UFC historical past, knocking out Terrance McKinney (18-9) at 4:59 of Spherical 1.
After surviving McKinney taking his again late within the body, Inexperienced escaped to his toes with solely seconds remaining. He immediately turned the tide, unleashing a devastating mixture — touchdown a left hand, two entrance kicks, and a brutal physique shot — to fold McKinney and safe the walk-off stoppage on the literal horn.
