McGregor confirms torn ACL, meniscus in right knee

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Different knee, same injury.

In an Instagram post on July 19, 2026, Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Conor McGregor announced that he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his right knee during his comeback fight against Max Holloway on July 11.

“It was ACL and meniscus,” McGregor posted.

“It is the same injury as the first Holloway fight, only this time the opposite leg. Quite shocking. On we go, no sad stories. Thank you for the support and well wishes, everyone. Your health is your wealth.”

It was déjà vu.

Thirteen years ago, McGregor tore his left ACL during their first encounter but managed to pull off a miraculous victory by unanimous decision.

Fast-forward to 2026: The Irish star once again blew out his knee, but the outcome was different, as Holloway got his revenge in just 69 seconds.

McGregor’s comeback bout was cut short after he threw an awkward jump switch kick and immediately limped upon landing.

Holloway looked directly at the referee in confusion after McGregor signaled that he could no longer continue, but Mike Beltran let the fight go on, allowing Holloway to throw a couple of nasty overhand punches before the bout was stopped.

In the most anticlimactic end to a main event, almost everyone in Las Vegas was left speechless by what transpired and surprised when Holloway was declared the winner.

Amid the criticism surrounding McGregor’s camp, his head coach, John Kavanagh, defended the kick, explaining that they had practiced the exact sequence throughout training camp.

“Devastated,” Kavanagh said.

“That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warm-up. Never an issue. Knee went when he threw the very first kick. Doesn’t get any worse than this.”