​Conor McGregor’s longtime head coach John Kavanagh is still reeling from what happened in the main event of UFC 329. After half a decade of waiting to see his star pupil step back into the octagon, McGregor’s return (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) lasted a mere 69 seconds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Notorious opened his rematch against Max Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) with a sprinting jumping kick, and his leg immediately gave way. The fight was quickly waved off by the referee, awarding Holloway a first-round injury TKO. It was far from the result anyone wanted, especially Kavanagh of SBG Ireland, who stated that the exact kick McGregor hurt himself on had been planned in advance and was a routine drill throughout McGregor’s training camp.
The bright lights and spectacle of a big event don’t replicate the gym, and when it mattered most, McGregor’s body let him down. For Kavanagh, witnessing that moment was heartbreaking, and he conveyed his feelings publicly via Facebook: the coach expressed how tough it was to see McGregor struggle to continue after the initial misfortune of the opening exchange.
In the wake of the fight, much discussion has centered on whether McGregor carried a pre-existing injury into UFC 329. Viewership and analysis of fight-week footage, the walkout, and other observations have sparked ongoing debate about the state of his health entering the bout. However, Kavanagh made it clear that, in his view, there was no pre-existing condition contributing to the outcome; he refuted the notion that McGregor had entered with an undisclosed injury.
The full extent of McGregor’s injury remained undisclosed at the time of reporting. UFC President Dana White, speaking after UFC 329, indicated that McGregor’s medical team feared a torn ACL, though specifics were not released in that moment. The incident has left much uncertainty about the fighter’s immediate future and the durability of his comeback at the highest level of the sport. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie and has been updated to reflect Kavanagh’s perspective and the evolving details surrounding the injury.