Conor McGregor's knee 'never an issue' ahead of UFC 329, says coach

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor's longtime coach, has confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the fighter was not battling an injury entering his UFC return bout vs. Max Holloway.

The fight was stopped by the referee after just 69 seconds when the former two-division champion sustained a right leg injury in the opening seconds when attempting to deliver a left-footed kick.

Upon landing, the right leg buckled. He attempted to continue the fight but struggled to keep his footing, forcing the stoppage.

"Devastated," Kavanagh wrote in a Facebook post. "That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup. Never an issue. Knee went when he (threw) the very first kick. Doesn't get any worse than this."

While McGregor and his camp have not confirmed what the injury is, UFC president and CEO Dana White said their doctors believe he sustained a torn ACL.

He also downplayed the notion, which spread on social media, that McGregor was already hurt entering the match, if for no other reason than that nobody suspected anything until the match began.

"If there was a preexisting injury, somebody would have noticed," White said. "I don't think there was. Anything is possible, but he sure didn't look like it. And for 80 million people (to watch him) on my account alone, that overall number has to be massive. Nobody noticed anything, so, there you go."

For McGregor, who turns 38 on Tuesday, it unfortunately echoed the way his previous UFC fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 ended, when he broke his right tibia and forced a doctor's stoppage at the end of the first round.

While some may doubt if McGregor will be able to fight again given how his recent bouts have ended, don't count the Notorious One among those people.

"I was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened. The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense," McGregor posted on his X account early Sunday morning. "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."