Conor McGregor has finally shared the official diagnosis on the knee he injured at UFC 329.
McGregor returned to the cage after a five year layoff, only to hurt his leg off the first kick he threw against Max Holloway. Their fight ended in just over a minute, (controversially) ruled a TKO win for Holloway. After a week of speculation on exactly what damage was done to his right knee, UFC brass revealed that McGregor had suffered two tears in his knee. Now the Irish sports star has confirmed just how badly he’s hurt.
“Update: It was ACL and meniscus,” McGregor wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It is the same injury as the first Holloway fight, only this time the opposite leg. Quite shocking.”
“I returned to competition within 9 months to fight Diego Brandao back then,” he continued. “With today’s regenerative medicine advancements and improved training methods it is well within my realm to return by next summer.”
That’s a pretty ambitious timeline considering McGregor was only 25 the first time he rehabbed an ACL / meniscus tear. Can cutting edge medical treatment make up for 13 years of hard living? Mac found out the hard way at UFC 329 that his body isn’t as resilient as it once was, and he may find out again here. But “The Notorious” did share some positive signs that indicate the tears aren’t as severe as they could be.
“I am walking without a crutch,” he wrote. “I’ve done leg extension machine work the other day to no issue. So I can walk without aid, and activate my quad under resistance. All very positive. I am maximum discipline and have maintained it fully since the bout.”
McGregor had mentioned previously that a win might have led him back down a bad path, and perhaps the injury was God’s way of keeping him on the straight and narrow. He repeated that sentiment in his injury update.
“I wonder was I saved from something worse here,” he mused. “I believe so. I would have attended the after party as ‘the man’ and who knows then. I believe I was saved. Thank you God!”
“On we go, no sad stories. Thank you for the support and well wishes everyone, your health is your wealth.”
