Heading into the main event of UFC 329, the card was absolutely awesome and among the best UFC events of 2026.
In the first 13 fights, there were 10 stoppages, including Paddy Pimblett submitting Benoit Saint Denis in the co-main event in what was one of the most violent submissions we have ever seen inside the Octagon, as the Scouser choked the Frenchman unconscious with a D’Arce choke.
It was about just as good a lead-in to the main event as the UFC could have ever asked for, as Pimblett is, in many ways, the fighter who the promotion believes can be the face of the UFC going forward.
With the first 13 undercard fights out of the way, then came the main event, the fight that everyone was looking forward to watching: the highly anticipated rematch between UFC superstar Conor McGregor and Max Holloway.
Stepping into the Octagon for the first time in five years since he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, the return of “The Mac” was billed as one of the biggest fights in UFC history, with the promotion breaking the gate record with $26.43 million in tickets sold at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It was a rematch 13 years in the making, as McGregor previously beat Holloway via unanimous decision in August 2013. It was a fight everyone had been looking forward to for so many years.
Then the fight actually happened.
Right away, McGregor came out and threw a kick at Holloway, falling to the floor. He got up, and then he fell again. Holloway then began pointing to McGregor’s leg and letting referee Mike Beltran know that something was wrong.
McGregor got back up, but soon he stumbled, and it was clear that he was compromised.
Just 1:09 into the fight, it ended, with Holloway winning via injury TKO.
For such a big fight, this was by far the worst possible ending. It was literally the worst-case scenario for the UFC, which now has questions to answer about what happened to McGregor.
Was he hurt coming into the fight? Did the UFC know? These are questions that fans are asking.
You cannot blame the fans for booing after the fight ended in such an anticlimactic fashion. After all, people travelled from all over the world to go to Las Vegas, spending thousands of dollars on tickets and hotel rooms to watch the return of McGregor after five years away.
But the fight literally ended in 69 seconds.
Now we have to wonder what the UFC will do next.
Holloway said he wants to run it back and do a trilogy fight between the two after they split the first two fights 1-1. But McGregor turns 38 this year, and he just blew his knee out. We know he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so does it make sense for him to fight again when he doesn’t have to? Not really.
According to UFC president Dana White, the doctors believe that McGregor tore his ACL, but an MRI will confirm it. Without the UFC knowing exactly what’s going on with McGregor and the extent of his injury, we don’t know what his future in the promotion will be. But given his age, it’s not ideal for him to suffer such a potentially devastating injury.
Don’t be surprised at all if this is the last time you ever see McGregor set foot into the Octagon. He doesn’t need this anymore, and after what happened in this fight, it will be hard for the UFC to trust him headlining another card, because the fans are very, very angry about how this fight ended.
The good news for the UFC is that Pimblett had a massive win, and in some ways, he emerged as the star of the event even though Holloway was technically the biggest winner on the card as he beat McGregor in the headliner.
But the way that Pimblett beat Saint Denis was absolutely electric, and it puts him right back at the top of the UFC lightweight division and close to getting a rematch against UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje after the two fought in a five-round war earlier this year at UFC 324.
In addition, flyweight Brandon Royval had another incredible performance as he submitted Lone’er Kavanagh in the Fight of the Night. It was Royval’s sixth Fight of the Night bonus in the UFC, making him arguably the most exciting fighter in the sport right now, pound-for-pound. By taking out a top prospect in Kavanagh, Royval cemented himself as a flyweight great.
Mario Bautista, too, had a standout performance, as he defeated Cory Sandhagen in their rematch to collect the biggest win of his career. As well, Robert Whittaker had a successful debut in the UFC light heavyweight division when he defeated Nikita Krylov via third-round TKO.
And finally, heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson finished Elisha Ellison in his UFC debut. Just 26 years of age, Steveson is a former Olympic Gold Medalist in freestyle wrestling; he was on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad in the NFL, and he also competed in WWE. Training with UFC legend Jon Jones, Steveson has the potential to be one of the best heavyweights in the sport.
Overall, UFC 329 was an incredible card. There was so much to like about the event. But the way McGregor vs. Holloway 2 ended just makes everything feel like such a waste.