At UFC 329, history repeated itself. Precisely five years after Conor McGregor famously broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, an injury he battled through years of rehabilitation, the Irishman suffered a similar fate against Max Holloway at the very same T-Mobile Arena after evidently blowing out his knee in the opening seconds of the fight. McGregor’s inability to continue prompted referee Mike Beltran to stop the bout just 69 seconds into the fight, handing a TKO victory to Holloway.

Following the loss, a disappointed McGregor left the arena without speaking to Joe Rogan or the press. Naturally, everyone wondered what his first statement after the defeat would be. Finally, ‘The Notorious’ has reflected on his devastating outing, revealing that he had no prior injuries before stepping into the Octagon last night.

“My head gasket is gone,” McGregor wrote 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.”

For McGregor, it’s understandable that he feels gutted about how the fight turned out. For years, the former UFC two-division champion waited for this opportunity to put on a show for his fans. His coaches, teammates, and loved ones repeatedly stated that the Irishman had gone through a dedicated training camp with an unwavering mindset. Yet, it didn’t even take a full round before months of preparation and hard work went down the drain due to a freak injury, a chapter he believed he had already overcome.

The 37-year-old’s injury against Dustin Poirier is definitely his most talked-about setback. In fact, much of his UFC 329 campaign revolved around his injury, which he claimed was the result of fighting with “stress fractures.” Besides that, McGregor previously fought Chad Mendes at UFC 189 with an 80% torn ACL.

The Irishman also claimed to have fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 with a broken foot. With that in mind, it’s not entirely out of the question to think that McGregor wouldn’t shy away from entering a fight with an existing injury. Well, some reports have indicated that the ex-UFC champ may have entered UFC 329 with a pre-existing injury.

Though the Dublin native firmly rejected the notion of carrying any sort of injury into the fight, some reports have emerged that paint a different picture.

Outlets like MMA Mania and some social media pages have suggested that Conor McGregor briefly lost his balance outside the cage before the fight and also appeared to stagger while taking off his shoes. While the outlets didn’t outright claim that the Irishman had a pre-existing injury, the moment of imbalance certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Even though the former two-division champion is going through a rough time right now, McGregor has decided to make it clear that he will eventually return.

“I was so sharp and so ready for this fight, I cannot believe what has happened,” McGregor wrote in a follow-up post. “The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense. I was calm, ready, and confident. I am in shock what has taken place. The devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow. I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return.”

Now that the Irishman has finally reflected on his loss, Dana White addressed McGregor’s medical condition beforehand and weighed in on whether he had been carrying a prior injury into the fight.

Dana White reacts to Conor McGregor’s injury loss at UFC 329

Other than Conor McGregor himself, many wanted to hear what Dana White had to say after his ambitious International Fight Week main event broke apart like glass. Reporters asked the UFC CEO about ‘The Notorious’s freak injury, and White confirmed that McGregor was doing fine throughout the buildup to the event. He even pointed to the animated faceoff with Holloway as further proof that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“I have no idea,” White said. “That I don’t know. I mean, the day of the press conference, he came running out from the back and ran right up to him, stopped abruptly, and squared off with him. They were pushing foreheads.”

The UFC CEO correctly pointed out that Conor McGregor looked and sounded highly motivated during the press conference, showing no signs of an injury. Still, White went on to stress that it would’ve been highly unusual if nobody had spotted an injury in the lead-up to the fight. He firmly said it was “impossible” that anyone had seen something and not spoken up, essentially dismissing the idea that McGregor had been carrying a pre-existing injury without anyone knowing about it.

Following this, Dana White appeared highly disappointed that he didn’t get to see Conor McGregor compete after five years. The 56-year-old also believes that the Irishman had suffered an ACL tear, adding that he believed the doctors would come to the same conclusion.

“I was expecting at least a one-round war,” White added. “Who knew what Conor was capable of as far as cardio or whatever else after a five-year layoff? And well, there you go. I mean, we’re assuming a blown ACL. I’m not a doctor, but that’s what I figured when I saw it, and the doctors think the same thing too.”  

If McGregor has indeed suffered an ACL tear, his return to the Octagon could very well take close to a year. Current UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg is also recovering from an ACL injury he sustained against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327, a fight in which he still managed to emerge victorious and capture the title.

However, it would be a difficult road ahead for the Irishman if he wishes to make yet another comeback and if he decides to continue fighting.