00:00new footage of mcgregor stumbling before the fight changes everything a ufc main event lasted 69
00:06seconds before the opening bell even rang cameras had already caught conor mcgregor stumbling now
00:11that footage is spreading and it's forcing a hard look at what actually happened inside that cage
00:17conor mcgregor walked out at t-mobile arena for the first time in five years and within a little
00:23over a minute it was over the footage that's now circulating shows something the live broadcast
00:27almost buzzed past mcgregor appeared to lose his footing during the pre-fight routine before he'd
00:33even thrown a punch during the official pre-fight broadcast the irish star appeared to stumble
00:38slightly while removing his shoes before making his way into the octagon the clip quickly spread
00:43across social media prompting speculation that something might have been wrong before the fight
00:48had even begun it didn't stop there a separate angle from the warm-up area shows the same thing happening
00:53again footage of mcgregor warming up also captured the irish sports star stumbling back after throwing
00:59a high kick two different clips two different moments same leg giving him trouble all before the
01:05referee had even called time ufc's own broadcast team noticed it live ufc commentator john anick
01:11acknowledged the footage during the broadcast but stopped short of drawing conclusions saying it was
01:16too early to speculate about a pre-existing injury that's a commentator on the call in real time
01:22choosing his words carefully because even he could see something didn't look right then the fight
01:27itself started and everything the footage hinted at played out in real time mcgregor slipped twice to
01:32open the fight falling to his back holloway took top position and landed a few heavy punches then
01:38mcgregor returned to his feet threw a punch and fell to the canvas again holloway was confused and
01:43gestured to the referee who let mcgregor return to his feet and immediately it was clear mcgregor could not
01:49walk just like that the fight was over in seconds max holloway the man standing across the cage gave
01:55his own account afterward and it lines up with everything the pre-fight footage suggested mcgregor
02:00seemingly blew his knee out on the first exchange of the fight throwing a wild jumping switch kick
02:05that missed and buckled his knee just seconds into the first round holloway told megan olevy what
02:11it looked like from the inside of the cage saying he could see himself telling the ref bro this guy
02:16is
02:16done just stop it with the referee replying thank you for pushing me because that was a hard spot
02:22he even revealed mcgregor tried to keep going quoting him yelling fight fight despite barely
02:28being able to stand a third voice entered the conversation almost immediately the officials
02:33working the fight itself it appeared that mcgregor was injured before the fight even began
02:38as officials did their routine check before he even entered the cage that's not a fan theory
02:43that's a report on what the commission staff reportedly observed before mcgregor ever touched
02:48gloves with holloway so within the space of about 90 seconds of actual broadcast time the shoe removal
02:55stumble the warm-up stumble the double slip to open the fight and the collapse the entire story of the
03:01injury had basically already been told the only thing that changed after the fight ended was how loud
03:07people started talking about it what was expected to be an enthralling contest was halted just 69
03:12seconds into the opening round after mcgregor appeared to pick up a serious leg injury raising
03:18concerns over the 37 year old's future in mixed martial arts adding to the mystery mcgregor skipped
03:24the traditional post-fight interview inside the cage instead leaving the octagon immediately after the
03:29stoppage and heading backstage without addressing the crowd or media that silence is what turned a bad
03:35night into a full-blown mystery a guy who has never been short a word in his life walked straight
03:41past the
03:41microphones and it's that silence combined with the footage of him stumbling before he'd even started
03:47fighting that's changed how people are looking at the whole comeback because here's the thing this
03:52wasn't supposed to happen this way mcgregor didn't just show up for a random undercard fight this was
03:57billed as one of the biggest comebacks in combat sports history the event marked the irishman's return
04:03to competition after five years out
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