You can argue that it has been the case for a while now, but whether he returns to fight again or not following another injury setback at UFC 329 this past Saturday, Conor McGregor, and the McGregor era, are done.
Done as a viable competitor in any weight class, at least. Likely done as someone you can build a card around on his own. Father time remains undefeated.
This is not a knock on McGregor. His rise up through the ranks of the UFC’s featherweight division was captivating, and unlike any other. His ability to project confidence, predict outcomes, landing with pinpoint accuracy and timing, were unlike any other. Naysayers who disliked his personality or showmanship will overlook just how good McGregor was in wins over Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Eddie Alvarez.
Alas, those fights are all a decade past or even older now. And after sitting out five years due to a broken leg (and later, a broken toe), the setback McGregor suffered at UFC 329, where he appeared to injure his ACL (or aggravate an existing injury), signals the end. While McGregor had spoken of challenging for welterweight gold, that will not happen. Soon to be 38, with one fight left on his UFC contract, he may take one last payday, and even jump to the likes of Netflix or back to boxing for a money fight, but his days of UFC relevance are over.
In reality, they were over a while ago. We just all hoped for one more moment of magic, and many were willing to overlook McGregor’s many personal shortcomings to get it.
The takeaways from UFC 329 are many, although the aftermath has mostly been focused on McGregor, his injury, when he sustained it, and whether he’ll return. That does a disservice to the rest of the card, which was very, very good. But let’s break it all down.
Just when did McGregor injure himself?
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, take it from someone who had a catastrophic knee injury of his own involving over four hours of surgery and a year recovery: McGregor did not look normal just prior to entering the octagon on Saturday.
This isn’t about the pain management clinic video that recently popped up; fighters get bumps and bruises in camp, and there’s any number of reasons McGregor might have been seen attending one. Nor is it about his walkout, which some have questioned. However, in the moments immediately before entering the octagon, McGregor can be seen stumbling while taking off his shoes. He hops around, and rather tellingly, does not put much weight on his right leg. Instead, he compensates with, and hops around, on his left. This particular writer knows exactly what that is like. To this day, I sometimes stumble taking off shoes and balancing, ten years after shattering my own knee.
This is not to say that McGregor was injured coming into the fight, though I don’t discount it. Nor was he necessarily aware. He way have unknowingly tweaked something. It could have happened in that very moment. The fight-opening roundhouse kick he then threw was the final straw in what is likely an ACL or other ligament tear.
Conor McGregor before entering the Octagon pic.twitter.com/2j39oSqbzt
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) July 12, 2026
McGregor is now talking about surgery and another comeback. Good luck to him. Father time remains undefeated, but McGregor was the UFC’s first simultaneous double champ. That’s a distinction no one can strip from him.
Gaethje vs. Holloway is now the right move
Meritocracy? What’s that? For years, I’ve railed about sport over spectacle, but as I wrote following UFC Freedom 250, the UFC needs to make big fights, and with Justin Gaethje on the verge of retirement, his next (and potentially final) opponent should be the winner of UFC 329’s Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway.
That would be Holloway.
There is zero question that Holloway won by default on Saturday. In fact he didn’t win; Conor lost, because his body failed him. Still, it’s a win on paper, and a rematch with Gaethje following their UFC 300 classic would be massive for the promotion.
Gaethje has been a fighter’s fighter his entire time in the sport. While he’s spoken up a little about fighter pay in recent years, he’s essentially been a company man. His win at UFC Freedom 250 was the stuff of movies, and after all the amazing performances, he deserves a chance to get a win back.
You could easily slot Charles Oliveira in as well, but the way Holloway vs. Gaethje ended at UFC 300, it really, really needs to be that match-up. And again, apologies to Arman Tsarukyan. He’ll just have to wait a little longer.
No more moving the goal posts for Paddy
You cannot possible question Paddy Pimblett’s talent after UFC 329. There’s no excuse to be made, no way to detract from the quality of his win over Benoit Saint-Denis.
Pimblett has complained for years that critics often “move the goalposts” when it comes to his success, retroactively finding ways to devalue his wins. He “stole” the Gordon fight (that one may have a ring of truth), Ferguson and Chandler were too old. The rest of his opponents? Listen to a certain segment of MMA fans, and they’ll claim they were never that good (that same segment of the fanbase generally seems to think anyone outside the top five, or even top three, of a division sucks anyway, and shouldn’t ever be listened to).
Benoit Saint-Denis entered UFC 329 on a four-fight win streak, with four finishes, two via submission and two via TKO, plus two Performance of the Night bonuses in that span. He’s a top five lightweight.
Now, it’s time to give Pimblett the fight he wants: Ilia Topuria. Even since UFC London in March of 2022, the pair have been bitter enemies. A skirmish at the fighter hotel that saw a bottle of hand sanitizer thrown set it all off. Grudge matches sell, Pimblett still needs another big win before an undisputed title shot, and it’s an easy, marketable fight to make.
And if he wins that one, again, there’s really no moving the goalposts anymore.
