00:00UFC fighters react to McGregor's disastrous return.
00:0369 seconds, that's how long Conor McGregor's five-year wait lasted before it, ended on the canvas.
00:08He threw one kick, his leg buckled, and the biggest comeback in UFC history was over before the crowd had
00:14settled into their seats.
00:15Fighters across the sport are still reacting, and their reactions aren't kind.
00:19Some are calling it the most disappointing main event they've ever seen.
00:23Others are questioning if McGregor has any business stepping into the octagon again.
00:27To understand why the entire MMA world is talking about this, we have to go back to the walkout, the
00:34kick, and the 69 seconds that followed.
00:36Conor McGregor hadn't fought in the UFC in five years.
00:40His last appearance came at UFC 264 in July 2021 when he broke his leg in a trilogy loss to
00:47Dustin Poirier.
00:48Since then, there had been false starts, canceled bookings, and endless speculation about whether he'd ever return at all.
00:55So when he finally walked out at T-Mobile Arena to face Max Holloway in the main event of UFC
01:00300, 29, the anticipation in the building was enormous.
01:04There was widespread doubt that Conor McGregor would actually show up for his main event rematch with Max Holloway given
01:11it had been five years and he'd pulled out of his last scheduled fight against Michael Chandler.
01:16In the end, McGregor did show up.
01:18Unfortunately, despite massive excitement about his return, the fight itself was an utter letdown.
01:24It may have been the most disappointing main event in UFC history.
01:28Here's what happened.
01:29The bell rang.
01:30McGregor came out of his corner and immediately went for a jumping kick.
01:34An eager, aggressive opening statement from a fighter desperate to prove he still belonged.
01:40He suffered a knee injury straight away when throwing a jumping kick.
01:43To start the fight, he looked to land a jumping scissor kick as soon as the fight began and when
01:48he landed, you could see his knee give drawing a reaction from the returning Irishman.
01:53He tried to persevere, slipping to the canvas twice, with Max Holloway asking referee Mike Beltran if he wanted to
01:59intervene Holloway.
02:01The man who was supposed to be his opponent was the one pleading with the referee to protect him.
02:06The fight continued and when they stood, Holloway landed one kick.
02:10McGregor took an unsure step back and the fight was waved off.
02:15The official result was a Holloway victory in just 69 seconds.
02:19Think about that number for a second.
02:21Five years of waiting, months of hype, an entire international fight week built around this single fight and it lasted
02:28less time than it takes to boil an egg.
02:30The reaction inside the arena was immediate and brutal.
02:33This wasn't a crowd that got the fight they paid for.
02:36Let's give it up for Conor McGregor, guys, Holloway said afterward to a booing T-Mobile arena.
02:43He tried to keep the moment respectful, adding that McGregor was an absolute animal for trying to fight through it.
02:49But then Holloway revealed just how much McGregor had begged to continue.
02:54When we were in here, I was trying to call the fight off and he kept asking to fight.
02:59On, Holloway said, read that again.
03:03Holloway, the guy who was there, to win was the one trying to stop it.
03:07McGregor wanted to keep fighting on a leg that had already given out.
03:11Then came the line that turned an injury into a business opportunity.
03:15Holloway told the booing, crowd, there's going to be a Holloway vs. McGregor 3, adding,
03:20let's get this effing money, boys, even in his moment of near-victimhood, Holloway, was hustling.
03:27And when someone in the crowd, or a reporter, asked him what happened, his answer had a bit of edge
03:33to it.
03:33What can, I say, I had him weak in the knees, I guess.
03:37McGregor didn't stick around for the usual post-fight theater.
03:40The Irishman walked out of the octagon before Joe Rogan had a chance to interview him.
03:45No, microphone, no explanation, just a hobble to the back.
03:50Alone, 5 years.
03:51Of build-up collapsing into a walk of silence.
03:55It's worth remembering what this fight was supposed to represent.
03:59This was a rematch, 13 years in the making.
04:02They first met on August 17, 2013 at UFC.
04:06Fight Night 26 in Boston.
04:09A featherweight bout buried on the prelims,
04:11where a 25-year-old Conor McGregor, in just his second UFC fight,
04:15beat a 21-year-old Max Holloway by unanimous decision.
04:20The craziest part about their first meeting is that McGregor leaned on wrestling,
04:24landing four takedowns, and piling up more than six minutes of control.
04:29He also tore his ACL during the fight and still won.
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