Conor McGregor has been suspended from fighting following his underwhelming comeback fight against Max Holloway.

The former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight champion returned to the octagon for the first time in five years, but was forced to retire just one minute and nine seconds into the fight.

McGregor, 37, is believed to have ruptured his ACL after one of his first actions of the bout, though this is yet to be confirmed.

UFC chief Dana White confirmed in the post-fight press conference that they suspected this to be the injury in the Irishman's right knee.

"Notorious" McGregor stormed out of the ring after Holloway was declared the winner, refusing to do any interviews afterwards in Las Vegas.

The last time he was in the ring, he suffered a different horror injury with a leg break against Dustin Poirier in 2021.

McGregor's comeback fight ended prematurely after he suffered an injury. Credit: Ian Maule/Getty Images

Conor McGregor suspended from fighting

McGregor, who was fighting Holloway two weight classes up and 13 years on from their first match at featherweight, attempted a jumping kick in the opening seconds.

He then landed awkwardly, before trying the same kick again, which ended in devastation as his knee gave out, with the referee waving off the contest.

The result compounds a rough few years for the combat fighter, who has faced legal troubles in preceding years, having been found liable in a civil rape case in November 2024.

Now, the Irishman has been given an immediate suspension from competition by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NAC).

The NAC is expected to give him a six-month ban from fighting at a minimum, especially given the apparent severity of his injury.

Combat sports can leave the body much worse for wear, with a number of possible serious injuries sustained by fighters.

These medical suspensions are given to all competing fighters, with the length ranging anywhere from 30 to 180 days depending on any injuries.

Speaking after the fight, White said: "I was expecting at least a one-round war.

“Who knew what Conor was capable of, as far as cardio or whatever else, after a five-year layoff.

“I’m no doctor, but that’s what I figured when I saw it.”

The UFC President admitted that McGregor looked to have sustained a severe injury. Credit: IMAGO / Bildbyran

Conor McGregor speaks out after the fight

McGregor, who broke his left leg in his last fight, appeared crestfallen as he left the cage and headed to the changing rooms.

Unsurprisingly, he took to social media shortly after leaving the venue, posting a conspiracy theory about his injury.

Taking to X, he claimed: “My head gasket is gone. 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.”

Featured image credit: Ian Maule/Getty Images

Conor McGregor has been left in "hell" after his UFC return didn't go to plan on Saturday night (July 11), as he was forced to retire just 69 seconds into his fight against Max Holloway.

It was the Irishman's first time in the Octagon since 2021, when he suffered a tragic left leg break against Dustin Poirier.

McGregor, 37, is thought to have ruptured his ACL after one of his first actions of the bout, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight champion has also been handed a suspension from competition by the NAC, which is expected to last six months, as a result of his injury.

Fans would have been disappointed by the underwhelming event, which was heavily anticipated by combat sports fans.

But while McGregor stormed out of the ring and refused to do a post-fight interview in Las Vegas, it's not all doom and gloom for the fighter as he has taken home a handsome figure for his appearance.

Conor McGregor's UFC return ended in agony for the Irishman. Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty

McGregor's reported eight-figure earnings

The 37-year-old may not have headlined UFC 329 in the way he wanted, landing awkwardly after attempting a jumping kick in the opening seconds.

McGregor, who was fighting Holloway two weight classes up and 13 years on from their first match at featherweight, tried the same kick again, causing his knee gave out, with the referee waving off the contest.

While Holloway claimed his opponent was "weak in the knees," many speculated that McGregor had entered the Octagon injured, a claim he has since disputed.

Former NFL team doctor David J Chao described him as "heroic" for trying to continue after sustaining the injury, as he suggested that he had done some damage to his ACL or MCL in his right leg.

While the pay-per-view model was scrapped by the UFC, it's believed that McGregor still earned an eye-watering amount for his 69-second stint in the ring.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show in June, McGregor shared a bit about the contract he signed for his fight against Holloway.

He explained: "We got a juicy one - was it what my worth is? Probably not. Was it what they wanted to offer? Definitely not. Definitely not. We met in the middle. I'm a fair operator.

"I love the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and I'd love to continue. Let's see how it goes," he simply said.

It's been reported that the MMA fighter will walk away with approximately $30 million, though the UFC has not confirmed this.

If this is correct, then the "Notorious" McGregor will have made $435,000 for every second he competed for in the Octagon.

Reports state that the UFC icon secured at least $15 million from the UFC, with sponsorships, promotions, and other enterprises helping to make up the other half of his kitty.

It was also said that Holloway is estimated to have earned just $3 million for the headline fight.

The result compounds a rough few years for the combat fighter, who has faced legal troubles in preceding years, having been found liable in a civil rape case in November 2024.

McGregor's comeback fight ended prematurely after he suffered an injury. Credit: Ian Maule/Getty Images

Conor McGregor addresses result and injury rumors

McGregor, who broke his left leg in his last fight, appeared dejected as he left the Octagon and headed to the changing rooms.

Unsurprisingly, he took to social media shortly after leaving the venue, posting a conspiracy theory about his injury.

Taking to X, he claimed: “My head gasket is gone. 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.”

Featured image credit: Ian Maule/Getty Images

It would be fair to say that 2019 was a challenging year for Conor McGregor.

Fresh off a devastating defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov by way of submission in October of 2018, the Crumlin-born fighter made headlines more for his actions outside of the octagon than any exploits in it.

Despite successfully launching his own brand of Irish whisky - Proper Twelve - Conor has had a tumultuous year that culminated in allegations of assault after a video appeared to show him striking a man in an Irish pub.

Conor McGregor was mocked recently for appearing this bizarre Russian advert:

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In an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani in the wake of the incident, the Irish fighter was contrite, stating;

"In reality, it doesn't matter what happened there. I was in the wrong. That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it to end the way it did. And although it was five months ago, I tried to make amends, and I made amends back then. But that does not even matter. I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility. I owe it to the people that have been supporting me. I owe it to my mother, my father, my family. I owe it to the people who trained me in martial arts."

CCTV footage shows Conor McGregor smashing a fan's phone:

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He also spoke out on his future in the UFC, saying at the the time that he was game to fight anyone. Back then, it seemed most likely that he would face Justin Gaethje, but we now know that Conor will be making his UFC return at welterweight against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

This marks Conor's return to the 170lb weight limit - the same weight at which he fought out two monumental scraps with Nate Diaz - and it's fair to say that the Irishman is looking absolutely ripped as he makes his final preparations for the comeback.

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Conor will make his return to UFC action on January 18 against Donald Cerrone as the main event at UFC 246.

MMA fighter Conor McGregor has dramatically announced his return to the Octagon, a mere nine days after saying he'd retired from MMA.

Following the Irishman's fight, loss and subsequent brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor was banned from fighting for around six months, but appeared to have quit the sport for good. Yet on his Twitter page, McGregor sent his 7.6 million followers a very simple message: he's back.

"I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds. All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all ❤️Now see you in the Octagon."

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Some of those 7.6 million followers were really happy to have McGregor - also known as The Notorious - back in the Octagon. "The king is back," said @SVanadestine, but others were a little more cynical of the announcement, considering how long he had been 'retired', as well as his comments made at his previous opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"YOU ARE EMBARRASSING," said @PeakWxzza, alongside an image of McGregor losing to Khabib last October, while @ellllva remarked: "I like how nobody took his retirement comment seriously lolll [sic]." But a lot of people are still upset over McGregor's Islamophobic remarks he made earlier this week.

McGregor's return announcement was weaved into an apparent apology for a tweet he earlier made about Khabib's wife, referring to her traditional wedding dress and describing the Muslim fighter's wife as "a towel". Khabib did not himself comment on the tweet, but the Russian fighter's agent Ali Abdelaziz hit back at the 30-year-old, describing McGregor as a "rapist".

"Talking s**t, this guy is insulting someone’s wife and making fun of her religion and belief. He doesn’t realize he’s insulting 1.5 billon Muslims. Religion and family is a no no. You’re f**ked Connor, let’s see what the media is going to say now. He’s a rapist, and a bitch."

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@Crypto_entropy was quick to bring this up, following McGregor's apology and announcement: "Yet you s**t on a man's wife who was in her traditional, religious garb during her wedding. Doesn't add up man," while @JFarrell412 added:

"Nah Conor. You said what you said, those were your true feelings. You can’t take that s**t back and attempt a poor ass apology just because you got called out for your anti-cultural, hateful, disgusting views."

UFC boss Dana White, meanwhile, appeared to know Conor McGregor would come back to the Octagon before too long. Speaking on Las Vegas Channel 8, shortly after McGregor retired, White said:

"No. I think that there's some things that Conor wants and I think that Conor wants to get together face to face, he and I, and we probably will in the next couple of weeks and we'll get this thing [Conor's retirement] figured out. Listen, who gets respected more than Conor McGregor does? Come on."

"The guy's never been disrespected, definitely not by me. And he's got a lot of money too," added the UFC head honcho.