McGregor's coach says knee 'never an issue' ahead of UFC 329 - ESPN

Conor McGregor's right knee was «never an issue» ahead of UFC 329, according to his longtime head coach John Kavanagh.

McGregor (22-7) suffered a devastating loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas, when it appeared his right knee buckled after he threw a kick in the opening seconds of the bout. The welterweight contest was waved off after just 69 seconds.

It was McGregor's first appearance in five years, since he suffered a broken left leg during the first round of a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

The immediacy of the injury prompted some speculation on whether it might have been pre-existing. McGregor has denied that speculation on social media, and Kavanagh reiterated the point on Sunday.

«Devastated,» Kavanagh wrote on Facebook. «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. Looking forward to seeing my family in a few days.»

McGregor, 37, has not revealed the exact extent of the injury. UFC CEO Dana White admitted on Saturday he and UFC doctors believed it was likely a torn ACL, which McGregor has suffered before in 2013. White also stated he did not believe McGregor went into the fight injured, pointing to McGregor's actions during the press conferences and weigh-in, in which he ran up on Holloway during a faceoff.

«If there was a pre-existing 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.»