Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White has shared atimeline for ConorMcGregor's recovery following the Irish star's anticlimacticreturn at UFC 329.

McGregor's long-awaited comeback lasted just 69 seconds as theformer two-division champion suffered a knee injury in his rematchagainst MaxHolloway with the first kick he threw. With one fight remainingin his contract, "Notorious" has begun his rehabilitation and hashis sights set on his Octagon return. White has now weighed in onwhen McGregor will be back.
Days after losing to Holloway, McGregor revealed that he sufferedan ACL and meniscus injury. The Irishman later claimed that he'stargeting a return for the summer of 2027. Speaking to reportersfollowing Zuffa Boxing 9, White revealed that McGregor is expectedto be sidelined for a year.

McGregor recently shared a video on Instagram of hisrehabilitation, prompting speculation about his recovery. White hasnow confirmed and reiterated the return timeline.

"I have no idea," White said when asked about McGregor's Instagrampost. "We had him on FaceTime tonight, ringside, but you know,Conor McGregor's out for a year."

McGregor is eyeing International Fight Week in 2027 for the finalbout of his UFC contract.

#mcgregor #contract #revealed

Erik McGregor/Getty Images
Blackstone does not expect growing competition to drive down returns on its new investments in AI infrastructure, at least not anytime soon, said COO Jon Gray.
Speaking during the firm's Q2 earnings call, Gray said demand for data centers, chips and the power to supply them is so great that the risk of oversupply and a subsequent collapse in valuations is minimal.
"It's very hard to get the chips today, it's very hard to get the power, it's very hard to get the entitlements [to build data centers]," he added. "That means the supply is not matching [demand]."
Data centers are sufficiently large and complicated to build that you don't see what Gray described as a "Miami condo effect," where developers speculatively build capacity in the hope of finding a buyer.

#hard #supply

Paul Felder isn't confident Conor McGregor comes back better after UFC 329.
McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) tore his right ACL and meniscus in the first kick he threw against Max Holloway two weeks ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was waved off after just 69 seconds as McGregor was unable to continue.
McGregor attempted to come back after breaking his left leg in July 2021. He was first scheduled to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but a broken pinky toe forced him out. Despite the slew of injuries and unfortunate events, McGregor insists on fighting again. He thinks with "today's regenerative medicine advancements and improved training methods," he can return as soon as summer of 2027.
"I do agree that with the advancements in medicine and things that you can do to support ligaments, and your knee, you can be back quick, but you're also way older than you were the first time you went through this surgery," Felder said on the "Believe You Me" podcast. "You didn't have a broken shin that you had already recovered from in the other leg.
"So I think yeah, he'll be back relatively quick, but I just don't know what your legs are going to be like after yet another big setback. I know he's trying to keep mentally strong. He keeps posting that he's not putting any substances in his body and I'm glad to hear that – good for him. But I just don't know if that's enough to get you back within a year, ready to go when you've had five years to get ready for this one, and your body still didn't seem to hold up to it."

#back #felder #didn 't

If behind-the-scenes dirt on the skeletons in people's closets is your thing, get ready for Season 2 of VICE TV's "Dark Side of the Cage."
VICE Studios on Thursday announced a new seven-episode season of the show with a premiere set for Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on VICE TV. The season premiere episode features UFC Hall of Famer Don Frye, "whose willingness to absorb brutality in the cage led to the fight of his life against pain and addiction."
Of particular interest to many, most likely, later in the season will be an episode featuring longtime fighter Phil Baroni, who remains in prison in Mexico on a charge of murder. A teaser video for the season shows a clip of a phone interview with Baroni and him saying his lawyers won't be happy he did the interview.
"From house-fire heroism to SWAT stand-offs to full-blown arena riots, season two of Dark Side of the Cage pulls back the curtain on MMA's most extreme highs and devastating lows," the official show pitch says. "'Dark Side of the Cage' cuts through the glamour and glory of the MMA spectacle to reveal the never-before-told stories behind the sport's most iconic competitors, told by the fighters themselves."
Other episodes, according to VICE TV, will feature ****** o Ortiz, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Chael Sonnen and Mark Coleman. Additionally, the season "will shed new light on one of the most heated feuds in UFC history: Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov."

#vice #dark #episode #show

This time last year the young and talented Motherwell youngster Lennon Miller was a reported Celtic target, only for the highly regarded midfielder to go and crush any hopes the Celtic supporters had of seeing him in the hoops when he signed for Serie A side Udinese in a £4.5 million plus deal.
Miller who just missed out on a place in the Scotland World Cup squad has impressed at the Italian side, making 26 appearances, and scoring one goal in all competitions in his debut campaign.
In my opinion, he's a player Celtic should still be interested in, as we look to bolster our midfield, an area which will be ever so weaker come the start of the new Scottish Premiership campaign, due to the impending departures of Arne Engels, and Reo Hatate.
Mika Baur of Germany in action during the UEFA Under21 EURO Qualifier between Germany U21 and Northern Ireland U21 at Eintracht Stadion on March 27, 2026 in Braunschweig, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Mika Baur is on the cusp of signing to plug the gap that will be created in the aforementioned players inevitable departures, but we still need a couple of more new faces to bulk up that area, even more so if our skipper Callum McGregor decides to move on.

#mika

Canadian Rapper Drake has placed a $1.5 million bet on Argentina beating Spain in the 2026 Fifa World Cup final.
The "God's Plan"rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, shared a screenshot of the online bet he placed on Stake ahead of the final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.
The 39-year-old put his money behind the South American team which, if they win, will see a payout of more than $5.1 million.
Sharing a screenshot of his bet on Instagram he said: "What's that saying??? Better luck next time…"
It comes after the artist previously lost a $1 million bet he placed on Irish Conor McGregor fighter winning his UFC bout against Max Holloway.

Max Holloway is currently receiving all the attention after his fight with Conor McGregorended disappointingly at UFC 329, after the Irishman injured his knee in the first round. Amidst that, his personal life recently came into the spotlight after the Hawaiian star's wife, Alessa Quizon, opened up about how they first met.
Last year, Holloway and Quizon appeared on the Brotherlee Time podcast, where they shared the story of their relationship. That clip now resurfaced and went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons, prompting Holloway to clarify that her comments had been taken out of context.
"Here's the context: 1. She was engaged while leaving me on read for 5 years," Holloway wrote on X."Lol. So if anything, I'm an ******* that kept reaching out. I lived by a code, though if you have a bf and he can't defend your honor, you have a girlfriend hahaha. 2. She was a professional surfer and actually really good at it. She has her own money. Get the full story before just watching clickbait and edited parts."
During a conversation a year ago, Holloway's wife revealed that Holloway had romantically pursued her for five years. After that, she revealed being interested in him after realizing Holloway was a "big deal" in the MMA world and seeing fans ask to take photos with him. However, Quizon finally clarified what really won her over.
""I respected Maxwell. I knew he was a great athlete from what I'd heard. Again, I never watched nothing," she said. "I didn't see that. I saw he was a really nice guy and again, very persistent. He wasn't creepy or anything. But I was like, 'Man, he doesn't (give up).'"

There was a moment following his brutal first round loss to Adrian Yanez at UFC 329 where it looked like Cody Garbrandt might retire. That's not the case, according to a new statement from the former bantamweight champion.
Garbrandt reached the top of the mountain in 2016, taking the 135 pound belt off Dominick Cruz in a masterclass of a performance. He lost the strap in his first defense against T.J. Dillashaw and never managed to regain his footing. Series health issues caused by COVID impacted him greatly, and he's gone 3-5 over the past five years. That includes this latest knockout defeat to Yanez in just two minutes and 47 seconds.
Garbrandt had his gloves off in the cage and it seemed like a retirement speech might be forthcoming. But whether it was for time (broadcast pacing waits for no man) or a change of mind, he never said the magic words. Now "No Love" has released a statement strongly suggesting that he will continue to fight.
"There are moments in life when hope fades, and the weight of endless problems makes the path unclear," Garbrandt wrote in all caps on Instagram. "But remember this — you only lose when you choose to give up. Let your struggles be your fuel, not your downfall. Don't let the storm break you; let it strengthen your will to rise and keep fighting."
UFC CEO Dana White once pegged Cody Garbrandt to be the American Conor McGregor. The talent, the look, and the attitude all had him convinced. But the fight game is merciless and it turned out that it was T.J. Dillashaw's time to rule bantamweight, not Garbrandt. These days Cody is trapped in the role of gatekeeper, still dangerous but unable to take the big shots from killers in the division. And there are a lot of killers in the division.

The MMA world was shook on Saturday following the co-main event of UFC 329. Max Holloway won by TKO after Conor McGregor appeared to injure his knee and the referee stopped the fight.
McGregor appeared on camera for the first time on Tuesday and vowed that he will return. He delivered a short message that showed him in good spirits. ACD MMA shared the clip on X, and it has since received hundreds of reactions.
MORE: UFC Power Rankings following UFC 329’s Conor McGregor disaster
“We’ll be back. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.”
“We’ll be back to rob you again! Nah in all seriousness, it’s totally a script. This is his redemption arc, he’s going to win this next fight and retire for sure,” one fan posted.

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Conor McGregor versus … Machine Gun Kelly?!? MGK reignites feud, buries ‘F—k Liddell’: I’m just glad we’ve found a winnable matchup for The Mac.
UFC Oklahoma’s Dricus Du Plessis mocks ‘horrible’ Brendan Allen, slams ‘ridiculous’ Strickland-Khamzat rematch: I understand rebooking Strickland vs. Khamzat from a financial sense, but Nassourdine Imavov clearly deserves the next shot from a sporting perspective.
UFC parts ways with Michel Pereira following Shara Bullet loss in Baku: Michel Pereira hasn’t been fun to watch in a while now, but he also got hosed by the ref in his final UFC loss — that’s a rough pill to swallow.

UFC 329 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, featuring the return of Conor McGregor – which didn't amount to much.
In the main event, McGregor was set to face Max Holloway in a rematch 13 years in the making, and everyone was robbed of an opportunity to see the fight develop due to an injury on the first action from the Irishman. The fight would have had little-to-no impact on the rankings, but there was action on the undercard that caused movement.
In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett made a huge statement by submitting Benoit Saint Denis in the opening minute with a unique submission he dubbed "The Pad-Tie." Pimblett climbs from No. 9 to No. 7, while BSD falls one spot to No. 8.
Also on the main card, Mario Bautista got one back on Cory Sandhagen, causing a shift in the bantamweight rankings. As a result of a swap, Bautista is the new No. 5, while Sandhagen falls to No. 6.
Check out all of the moves in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Dan Hooker would like to see Conor McGregor close out his career in the ring.
McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) injured his right knee just 69 seconds into his rematch against Max Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 329 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He is set to undergo surgery for what is suspected to be a torn ACL.
With McGregor sustaining another injury after a five-year layoff from a broken left leg, Hooker wonders if his body can handle competing in MMA anymore. He sees boxing as a better option for "The Notorious."
"I feel like we're just as excited to see Conor McGregor box one of these big-name guys for $100 million as we were before that fight," Hooker told Submission Radio. "To force him to squeeze out one more MMA fight where maybe his body can't – obviously boxing is a very difficult sport, but it's far less taxing all over on your body. I feel like boxers sustain a lot more head trauma than MMA fighters do, just the bigger gloves and just the duration of you're fighting 12 three-minute rounds with the cushioned gloves.
"I feel like they sustain a lot more head trauma, but I feel like all over the body, MMA's obviously a lot more taxing on your joints, and you get like niggly on all your ligaments and your knees, and you've got your back and your neck, and there's a lot more different places to get fatigued and get injured. So, it's just coming to a point now where maybe his body can't hold up in the MMA ***** e, and they should just let him box and earn some crazy money in his last couple of years of fighting."

UFC 329 has come and gone. While the card delivered some incredible moments, it ended in the most deflating way possible. Conor McGregor returned after five years off, and it ended in 69 seconds.
McGregor blew his knee out after one left high kick attempt, and Max Holloway came out victorious. The headlines have been focused on McGregor, which is valid since he’s the biggest star ever in this sport.
MORE: UFC Power Rankings following UFC 329’s Conor McGregor disaster
One question that’s not being asked enough is: what does Holloway do next? The former Featherweight champion now primarily competes at Lightweight but came up to Welterweight to fight McGregor.
Holloway said he wants to run it back with McGregor, but who knows when that would be since McGregor is going to have knee surgery. If Holloway wants to stay active, he goes back down to 155 pounds and fights a contender that can earn him a **** le shot.

Israel Adesanya is not keen on the Max Holloway trilogy for Conor McGregor.
McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) had a disappointing return after he blew out his right knee in just 69 seconds against Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 329 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He will undergo surgery, which could keep him out for a year.
Although McGregor injured his knee on the first kick he threw, Adesanya thinks Holloway is a tall order to return against after such a long layoff. He suggests McGregor finish his business with Michael Chandler (23-11 MMA, 2-6 UFC) for the final bout on his contract after "The Notorious" pulled out of their UFC 303 fight due to a broken pinky toe.
"He looked distraught, like a lot of weight on him," Adesanya told Demetrious Johnson of McGregor. "He kind of picked at his glove for a second, so I thought, is he going to retire? I don't think so. But a fight with Max again after a five-year layoff, you're fighting at the top of the heap, you're fighting one of the best to do it, that's a hard fight to come back against.
"I say if he does decide to come back later on, Chandler would be the only fight that makes sense because he kind of owes Chandler that fight. He honey-d*cked him for two or three years while Chandler was waiting for the big-money fight. So now after 'The Ultimate Fighter,' after all this time, it would be good for them to finally settle the score because they even have a little bit of – not beef, but they got some heat there."

Listen, if Conor McGregor had smoked Max Holloway in his return fight, here's guessing at least one of our Uncrowned MMA Pound-for-Pound voters would've slotted him in the top 10 of this month's list.
(We're mostly kidding.)
Yet given the anticlimactic nature of the ending of Saturday's UFC 329 main event, the more realistic question was whether Max Holloway would break back into the top 10 ******* e on the men's side of the ledger, and the answer is … no. Holloway got the 69-second victory, but he didn't need to do much in Las Vegas to secure it.
So as we enter the dog days of summer, the MMA pound-for-pound list stays steady with Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko holding down the top spots.
The panel of Ben Fowlkes, Chuck Mindenhall, Shaheen Al-Shatti, Petesy Carroll, Drake Riggs, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks have ranked both the men's and women's pound-for-pound best, one through 10, using a weighted points system to determine the final rankings (being voted No. 1 equals 10 points, No. 2 equals nine points, down to No. 10 equaling one point).

Conor McGregor is getting no sympathy from his former rival, Dustin Poirier.
McGregor, a former two-division UFC champion, promised the greatest comeback in sports history in his rematch against Max Holloway at UFC 329 Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event marked McGregor's first fight since breaking his leg in a trilogy fight against Poirier in 2021.
Unfortunately for McGregor, his return failed miserably. McGregor injured his knee with the first kick he threw, and the bout was stopped shortly after.
While some feel bad for McGregor, Poirier doesn't sympathize with the Irishman. Apart from their rivalry, in which McGregor took personal shots at Poirier and his wife, McGregor has tainted his image in the public with numerous altercations at bars and clubs, and most notably was found liable in a civil case for ***** ual ***** ault in 2018.
"It couldn't have happened to a better guy," Poirier said on Deep Waters. "That injury couldn't have happened to a better guy. I saw earlier this week, he said, 'Karma is a mirror,' and it definitely is. This guy is a dirtbag. I don't know if it was nervous energy. I don't know why he would start a fight like that. They're saying this was planned to start the fight, like training to open the fight like that with this jump kick. But I just don't understand why he would. That's like a Hail Mary. You're throwing a Hail Mary to start a 25-minute fight. I don't understand what's going on with that."

Robert Griffin III, just like everyone else watching UFC 329 last weekend in Las Vegas, suffered through the disappointment of Conor McGregor's failed comeback, which ended in just 69 seconds after "Notorious" botched a series of jumping kicks and blew out his knee.
The retired NFL star, who now talks for FOX Sports after getting released by ESPN, wants the promotion to refund every fan who spent money to watch UFC 329. That would only be ticket holders since UFC no longer sells pay-per-view (PPV) events and sorry, but Dana White and Co. are not going to part with that $25 million windfall.
Griffin also wants McGregor to retire.
Griffin is not the only **** yst who expects McGregor to fade away.
"There was one other moment, and it was the bad one for me where I go, 'We can't do this work anymore.' It was actually a punch," retired UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen, told MMA Junkie. "Conor threw a punch and he went down. He fell forward like a drunk guy. All the way to his knee. He hadn't thrown punches at full speed in so long, he lost his own balance doing it. No part of me is teasing. That was the real moment. You cannot main event him. You cannot repackage and sell this story, nor would they be interested."

Terrance McKinney and King Green went from friends, to enemies, to friends again.
“I’m going to be real: There ain’t too many black fighters as it is,” Green said after defeating McKinney at UFC 329. “I’m trying to show him and teach him something like, ‘Bro, we’re supposed to stick together.’ Irish fighters do it. The Mexican fighters do it. But us as black folks, where we come from and what we’ve been through is just different. It is what it is.”
Green claims they had a gentlemen’s agreement in place to never accept a fight against one another, but McKinney ignored their pact in order to get himself on the UFC 329 fight card, headlined by former two-division champion and the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor.
“I want nothing but good things for him,” Green said. “I’m sorry that we had to do this fight. I told you don’t take the fight, brother. That’s my little bro, and I didn’t want to do this sh*t. I didn’t want to shut his light out. He did everything right, but I’m unbreakable. My spirit don’t be broken.”
Green won by way of first-round technical knockout just seconds before the horn.

Conor McGregor is back. And there goes Conor McGregor.
Saturday’s UFC 329 main event failed to live up to the hype – an understatement, we know – with McGregor lasting just 69 seconds before an injury stopped his rematch with Max Holloway. This was McGregor’s first fight since 2021 and it’s difficult to imagine a worse scenario than what a packed house at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas witnessed.
Prior to that disappointment, several fighters put on star performances including Paddy Pimblett, Brandon Royval, Robert Whittaker, and Gable Steveson, but the fallout of the headliner is sure to cast a long shadow. The MMA Fighting crew hits the roundtable to discuss the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 329
Heck: All-time card – until that ***** bell rang in the main event.
Meshew: You got the full MMA experience: a great fight, a sick sub, some good finishes, one squash match, and hilarious disappointment.

Allan McGregor questioned whether he could bring enough to Rangers when weighing up whether to return in a coaching capacity.
Despite being part of Barry Ferguson's interim backroom team at the end of the 2024-25 season, he had his doubts and was "shocked" when offered the chance to join Derek McInnes' staff.
The former Rangers goalkeeper never gave coaching a thought during his playing days, during which he became a legendary figure at Ibrox.
However, the ex-Scotland international took up the offer to return to his boyhood club, where he played 505 times, and is "buzzing" to be back as he aims to help restore standards.
"This [offer] took a bit more thought because it is a longer-term thing," he told Rangers TV.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill expects to sell Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels this summer as Rangers counterpart Derek McInnes admits he needs departures before more signings.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is resigned to losing 28-year-old ***** an forward Daizen Maeda and 22-year-old Belgian midfielder Arne Engels this summer. (Daily Record)
Martin O'Neill would love to keep Daizen Maeda at Celtic this summer and allow him to run down the final year of his contract, as club legend Henrik Larsson did more than two decades ago. (The Herald)
Martin O'Neill plans to have a discussion with Celtic captain Callum McGregor about his future after the midfielder switched agents amid reports of interest from other clubs in the 33-year-old. (Glasgow Times)
Kelechi Iheanacho is training beside Newcastle United and Denmark striker William Osula at the Seedorf Football Academy in Manchester with Celtic manager Martin O'Neill saying he is still interested in re-signing the 29-year-old forward. (Scottish Sun)

Terence "Bud" Crawford has addressed ConorMcGregor's anticlimactic return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

McGregor's return to the Octagon ended in just 69 seconds atUFC 329. The former two-division champion seemingly injured hisright knee in the opening sequence of the fight, leading to astoppage from the referee as he was unable to continue.

UFC CEO DanaWhite subsequently speculated that it could be an ACL-relatedissue, an unfortunate occurrence considering McGregor's last boutbefore UFC 329 also ended in a leg injury.
Crawford, who has gone back and forth with McGregor previously,believes the Irishman got what was coming his way. The unbeatenboxer and the MMA superstar were once rumored to be squaring off ina two-fight crossover series across both combat sports, andMcGregor claimed Crawford turned down a $200 million deal, whichthe latter has since dismissed.

"It's crazy when they talk sh*t to me God punish them," Crawfordwrote on X.

This isn't the first time Crawford has addressed an MMA result.After IliaTopuria suffered the first defeat of his professional career atUFC Freedom 250 to JustinGaethje, "Bud" questioned the hype behind "El Matador" goinginto the historic White House event. Notably, Topuria hadpreviously claimed he could beat Crawford in boxing.

"This the guy that said he would knock me out and whoop me andShakur at the same time?" Crawford posted after UFC Freedom250.

The UFC returned to action Saturday night with UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, just one week after its successful White House event.
The night's highly anticipated main event featured Conor McGregor making his first appearance inside the Octagon in 1,827 days. McGregor last fought on July 10, 2021, when he suffered a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier after breaking his leg. Saturday's bout marked his long-awaited rematch with Max Holloway, whom McGregor defeated by unanimous decision in their first meeting in August 2013.
Lightweight: King Green (36-17-1) def. Terrance McKinney (18-9) via first-round TKO
Flyweight: Brandon Royval (18-9) def. Lone'er Kavanagh (10-2) via third-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Bantamweight: Mario Bautista (18-3) def. Cory Sandhagen (18-7) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Longtime **** yst Chael Sonnen sees two sides to the Conor McGregor story after a devastating octagon return at UFC 329.
After five years away from competition, McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) returned to rematch Max Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) in Saturday's headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The start of the fight was essentially the conclusion, because "The Notorious" came out with a jumping kick that ended in an awkward fall, and immediately it was clear it was going to end badly.
After a few more sequences where McGregor struggled to stay on his feet or throw any strikes with balance, referee Mike Beltran obliged to Holloway's encouragement to wave it off. The end came just 69 seconds after it began, and the lack of finality, given the pre-fight hype, was clear from everyone in the arena and watching at home.
"It was one of these things where there was nothing to take away from it," Sonnen told MMA Junkie on Sunday. "There was no redeemable quality. I would never kick a man when he's down. I would always help him up. I feel Conor can handle this: Conor knew. And in many ways, it was a very courageous thing. You've got all these Conor haters out there like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this happened. Call him McFraud.' Maybe we didn't know that was what you were dealing with, but you did and you sucked it up and you made that walk anyway. There is another side of this. But ultimately the story is: We can't do this work anymore.
"It was too big of an ask. Was there a pre-injury? Yeah. We saw that. I was convinced that Conor was there mentally in the right place. … I think Conor mentally was in the right spot, but the contest is physical. We're remembering those kicks and everything else. There was one other moment, and it was the bad one for me where I go, 'We can't do this work anymore.' It was actually a punch. Conor threw a punch and he went down. He fell forward like a drunk guy. All the way to his knee. He hadn't thrown punches at full speed in so long, he lost his own balance doing it. No part of me is teasing. That was the real moment."

LAS VEGAS – King Green seems like he's the kind of guy who doesn't say something if he doesn't mean it.
So when he said fighting Terrance McKinney was a little bit personal, and a lot about teaching a lesson, it was hard to not buy into it. After he put McKinney away with one second left in the opening round at UFC 329, he said they squashed their brief beef and planned to head out into "Sin City" to prove it – together.
And that they did, according to Green's social media posts after his TKO win at T-Mobile Arena to open the main card Saturday. Green (36-17-1 MMA, 17-12-1 UFC) was given the business by McKinney (18-9 MMA, 8-6 UFC) in the early moments of their fight, and his face showed it afterward. But in the final 30 seconds, he caught McKinney and hurt him, then kept the pressure on to get the stoppage with a second left in the opening frame.
"You've got to understand this is at its highest pinnacle," Green said after the fight. "The emotions are high, but you've got to be able to be in the fire. You've got to keep the emotions high, but you've got to control your emotions at the same time. It's a weird game that you've got to play. So they're high. I'm looking at him. He's looking at me. They're high, and they're in the fight. … But I'm just so used to the fire and the way it burns. It is what it is."
Green said in the buildup to the fight that his disappointment with McKinney was in his accepting the bout to begin with. In Green's eyes, they had a handshake deal in place – and McKinney admitted during fight week that he broke it so he could be part of a fight card headlined by Conor McGregor.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conor McGregor's manager said in a social media post Sunday that fighter did not have a previous knee injury prior to his shortened UFC 329 fight with Max Holloway.
McGregor's first fight in five years lasted just 1:09 due to a knee injury sustained while attempting an opening roundhouse kick.
"That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup. Never an issue," John Kavanagh wrote on Facebook. "Knee went when he (threw) the very first kick. Doesn't get any worse than this."
McGregor's highly-anticipated return to the octagon ended in disappointment when he awkwardly landed on his right knee in the opening seconds of Saturday's fight. McGregor tried to continue, but went to the mat twice more before the scheduled five-round match was halted by the referee.
McGregor and UFC President Dana White both said after the fight there was no pre-existing injury to the knee.

LAS VEGAS — Oh yes, the art of the buzzkill.
For a minute there, when the lights went down in Las Vegas, and the fascia ring lit up with the familiar Irish colors at the T-Mobile Arena, everyone stood on their feet to catch a glimpse of Conor McGregor making his way to the Octagon. You can say what you want about McGregor's many inconvenient truths, the hysteria of his fight nights is next to a religious experience in the game.
If there was a snake, it would've been passed around.
In a conversation with Marc Ratner, the UFC's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, he mentioned being there for Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns back in the 1980s when he headed up the Nevada Athletic Commission. He understood a big-fight feel, is what he was saying, looking around at the atmosphere Saturday at UFC 329.
One group of fans, while walking from New York, New York Hotel to the arena, were singing Bowie's "Five Years" because, well, that's how long it had been. Five years. A lot has happened. Lifetimes. Wars. Twitter's conversion into X. Everyone from Justin Jefferson to Tucker Carlson to Anthony Kiedis was there, along with the full galaxy of Vons, from Theo to Vince Vaughn to Erich von Stroheim — or at least that's who the UFC might've misidentified Justin Gaethje as when showing him on the celebrity cam.

UFC 329 was full of surprises on Saturday night, from the disastrous Conor McGregor comeback to Paddy Pimblett blowing through Benoit Saint Denis in less than one minute.
But before Pimblett stole the show in the co-main event, it was WNBA fan favorite Sophie Cunningham who generating buzz and trending on social media.
Cunningham, who became a star thanks to her role as Caitlin Clark's enforcer on the Indiana Fever, made an unexpected cameo as a UFC ring girl before the start of the co-main event. Cunningham walked around the Octagon to signal Round 1, and then dropped her viral finger point taunt.
MORE: Max Holloway, Sophie Cunningham recreate viral pointing memes after UFC 329
At the post-fight press conference, UFC boss Dana White explained how the Cunningham cameo came to fruition, saying it was a last-minute decision that was made on a whim "about eight minutes before she did it."

Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh is speaking out following his fighter's disastrous UFC 329 comeback, which saw the Irish sports star blow his knee out just seconds into a fight with Max Holloway.
McGregor, never one to start a fight in timid fashion, ratcheted things up even more for his first bout in five years. At the sound of the opening bell, "The Notorious" decided to attack with a running switch kick. The maneuver missed, and it looked like his right knee gave out from the awkward landing angle. McGregor attempted to keep fighting, but the knee collapsed out from under him multiple times before the referee stepped in and waved things off.
After five years of rabid anticipation for McGregor's return, the fight lasted just over a minute.
"Devastated," McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh wrote on Facebook hours after the fight. "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. Looking forward to seeing my family in a few days."

One needed only listen to the response from the fans still inside T-Mobile Arena when Max Holloway asked them to give it up for his opponent.
Moments earlier, Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) beat Conor McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) with a TKO that came just 69 seconds into their fight. After five years away and countless outside-MMA issues to dull his former superstar ****** er, McGregor's return went out with an absolute whimper.
He threw a wild kick right out of the gate against ex-featherweight champion Holloway in their UFC 329 main event and apparently blew out the knee on the leg opposite the one he broke against Dustin Poirier five years ago.
And when Holloway was on the microphone after the win, his first at 170 pounds, he asked the fans to show some love for McGregor. The Las Vegas fans showered down upon him with boos he hasn't been used to in fights. He appeared to symbolically grab his crotch while exiting the arena floor as a response to the fans' reaction to being asked to cheer for him.
Does that make Holloway's finish of McGregor, ostensibly just due to the injury, the most satisfying stoppage on the card, in a way? That's why we ask you to vote for the best finish – and there were plenty to cap off International Fight Week in the desert.