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Conor McGregor couldn’t believe his five-year return to the octagon ended the way it did on Saturday night in UFC 329 against Max Holloway.
But Joe Rogan said it was a “crazy” move that he tried in the opening round that cost him.
“He just tried a crazy move. He tried a jumping roundhouse kick,” Rogan said during the UFC broadcast after the main event ended. “… if you don’t land in a good way, with a supporting way, you put so much pressure on that knee. He landed with his knee in the worst position.”
McGregor’s kick attempt clearly hurt him, as he immediately grabbed his knee after Holloway evaded the strike. McGregor tried to keep fighting, but referee Mike Beltran called the fight after he tried another kick and clearly couldn’t land properly.
“He blew his ACL out with the very first move that he did,” Rogan suggested. “It sucks, but it’s just, you don’t do that.”
CONOR MCGREGOR REACTS TO DISASTROUS UFC RETURN: ‘MY HEAD GASKET IS GONE’
After speaking with doctors, UFC president Dana White said McGregor tore his ACL. Scans on McGregor’s knee will need to confirm the diagnosis.
Daniel Cormier, the ex-MMA fighter-turned-broadcaster, added that McGregor’s long absence from the sport could’ve contributed to the injury.
“When you’ve been away from that for so long, and you come back in there, it’s like you’re shot out of a cannon,” Cormier explained.
“So, you see these guys that have been gone for a long time do things that doesn’t make sense. And I think that’s what happened to Conor.”
McGregor was dejected after Beltran called the match, and understandably so. It was the 37-year-old’s first fight since he faced off against Dustin Poirier on July 10, 2021.
After the loss, McGregor posted a gut-wrenching tweet, saying he was completely healthy before the match.
“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed,” he wrote. “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.”
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Rogan also suggested that McGregor was trying to showcase no fear with his signature kicks with his surgically-repaired left leg. Either way, it cost the Irishman in the end.
McGregor’s UFC career record is now 22-7 after this TKO finish.
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