LAS VEGAS — For 13 years, Wai‘anae's Max "Blessed" Holloway wanted another crack at Conor McGregor.
Turns out, he may have gotten the last crack at him altogether.
In the welterweight main event of UFC 329, Holloway defeated McGregor via TKO at just one minute and nine seconds into the fight. McGregor, the worldwide megastar that hadn't fought in the octagon in five years following a fractured left leg against Dustin Poirier, suffered another devastating leg injury, this time a torn right ACL that put an early stop to the bout.
McGregor appeared to injure his knee mere seconds into the fight, throwing a jumping kick that didn't land. After thudding off the canvas, he favored his right leg until the fight was stopped, but not before Holloway landed a dozen significant ground strikes.
Prior to Saturday, Holloway and McGregor last fought each other in August 2013, with McGregor cruising to a unanimous decision in a featherweight bout. Thirteen years and 25 pounds later, it was Holloway who evened the score in the series. Will the two get a trilogy? With one fight left on his UFC contract and a net worth in the hundreds of millions, will McGregor ever fell compelled to return to the octagon?
"I don't even know. I'm gonna take some time," UFC CEO and president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference. "I don't like making fights at the end of the night. Not in this scenario.
"We'll see how this whole thing plays out. There's a lot of unanswered questions right now that will play out over the next several days, and that's why I don't come into these things and start talking about the future. ... We'll get back in the office on Tuesday, and it's not even worth talking about right now."
A total of 20,076 fans packed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for McGregor's short-lived return. Per TickPick, the average price of a ticket on Saturday was $1,537, setting a new UFC record. Following the card, White announced the fight gate was $26.4 million, another UFC record.
With the victory, Holloway improved to 28-9 overall, while McGregor dropped to 22-7.
McGregor entered the arena sporting a fresh mohawk. He walked out to Sinéad O'Connor's "The Foggy Dew," followed by The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize," giving the sold-out crowd another shot of adrenaline.
From start to finish on Saturday night, Holloway stayed true to his Hawaiian roots. Holloway, his wife Alessa and son Rush all entered the arena donning red and yellow outfits representing ‘ahu ‘ula, a symbol of Hawaiian royalty. He walked out to a medley of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole's "Hawai’i ‘78,” then finished with his customary “Hawaiian Kickboxer” by Moke Boy Kamealoha. "Hawai’i ‘78" was also the song former UFC champion and fellow Hawai‘i native B.J. Penn frequented in his walkouts.
Holloway typically walks out to a medley of two songs — one mystery song, followed by "Hawaiian Kickboxer." He knew on Saturday he'd have to pick a song that matched the magnitude of the moment.
"I was thinking about it forever. I was thinking about a very special occasion and when the Conor McGregor (opportunity) came up, I was like, 'This is huge.' He always does a shoutout to his country, so I had to do one the right way," Holloway said. "It had to be "Hawai‘i '78." We had other ones, I really wanted to do "Take Me Home Country Road," because I am from Wai‘anae, Mākaha, but at the end of the day, we had to go with "Hawai‘i '78.""
Holloway gave credit to McGregor for wanting to continue to fight as long as he did despite the injury.
After stating his strong interest in a McGregor trilogy earlier in the week, Holloway says his appetite for it has not changed despite Saturday's outcome. Like McGregor, Holloway plans to take some time away from competition.
"(McGregor) was talking about this 170 (pound) domain. I put in this 170 work. We worked our asses off here, especially after turning around so fast after that March fight, and to come back, I wanna feel this domain that he's talking about," Holloway said. "That's what I want. I know we want to see what his injury is, but as for me, I'm bound to come back 2027. ... I owe my family some time, owe my wife and my son some time, some family time. You guys will see "Blessed" return in 2027."
Another possibility is a rematch against UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, whom Holloway knocked out in spectacular fashion at UFC 300 in April 2024.
"I'm on the same boat as the 155 champ," Holloway said. "I heard he's not coming back 'til next year too, so we might be on the same cruise."
McGregor was not made available in the post-fight press conference and was seen leaving the arena by foot. Both he and White denied he was injured prior to Saturday's bout. On late Saturday night, McGregor took to X to express his disappointment.
"My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," McGregor tweeted. "I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell."
---
To open the preliminary card, Pearl City's Kai Kamaka III lost via TKO to England's Luke Riley in the first round. Riley dropped and wobbled Kamaka with a right hand with 2:13 left in the first round, then the referee pulled Riley away from Kamaka with 1:57 left in the first round to secure the victory.
Kamaka dropped to 18-8-1 in his career, while Riley remained unbeaten at 14-0.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
