Islam Makhachev is not convinced that Conor McGregor injured his knee while throwing a wild flying kick in the opening seconds of his UFC 329 comeback bout.
McGregor, after a five-year hiatus, returned to the octagon last month on July 11 to run it back with Max Holloway. Right after the opening bell, the Irishman sprinted towards the Hawaiian and tried to land a flying roundhouse kick, which missed the target, causing McGregor to land awkwardly and injure his right knee. Once his knee was busted, he could not put pressure on his lead leg and kept falling to the ground.
After just 69 seconds, when referee Mike Beltran saw “The Notorious” was struggling to stand, he stopped the fight. Holloway won by TKO (injury) at the 69-second mark of Round 1.
Many netizens and fans believe the former UFC double champion entered the octagon with an injured knee. To prove them wrong, McGregor has shared footage of him throwing hard kicks backstage just before the Holloway rematch.
A few weeks after the fight, McGregor confirmed that he tore his ACL and meniscus. He most recently had to go under the knife, and after surgery, shared with fans that he feels confident.
The 38-year-old has one bout left on the UFC contract and is already plotting a return on International Fight Week 2027.
During a recent interview with UFC Eurasia, Islam Makhachev, while discussing McGregor’s latest injury, said he believes the Dubliner must have injured himself in training camp. As per the Russian phenom, when any fighter, including himself, resumes training after a long rest period, the body usually gives up or gets injured in the initial phases.
The 34-year-old is convinced that since “The Notorious” returned after such a long time, his body could not endure the punishment during training, and McGregor must have injured his knee during fight camp. He said:
“When you stop training, and then you want to come back again, your body just can’t handle it. A lot of people say this injury happened in the fight, but I think it happened in the training camp.”
Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments below:
Islam Makhachev is still interested in fighting Conor McGregor
If Conor McGregor had defeated Max Holloway at UFC 329, he could have called out welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. McGregor had voiced his desire to fight for a third belt and had Makhachev in his crosshairs ever since the latter became the 170-pound champion.
But given how things played out last month, the chances of a potential title bout between Makhachev and McGregor are now very bleak. However, Makhachev has shown interest in a boxing match with McGregor.
During the same interview mentioned above, the Dagestani wrestling maestro recalled an incident from last year, when Turki Al-Sheikh asked him if he would want to box McGregor, and Makhachev immediately said he is game.
“I was at a boxing event with Turki Alalshikh, and he asked me if I’d box Conor McGregor. I said I was down, and he called Conor.
We couldn’t really talk because he started some… body language. (laughs)”
Although Dana White might not like the idea of a potential Makhachev vs. McGregor boxing match or an UFC bout, the 34-year-old believes a fight with “The Notorious” is “still possible.
Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments about Conor McGregor below:
