Conor McGregor may have suffered a heartbreaking return to the UFC, but the Irish superstar is still walking away with one of the biggest paydays of his career despite losing in just 69 seconds.
The former two-division UFC champion reportedly earned a guaranteed purse of at least US$15 million (RM63 million) for his comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas. With pay-per-view revenue, sponsorships and promotional bonuses included, his total earnings are believed to have exceeded US$30 million (RM132 million).
Fans had eagerly awaited McGregor’s first appearance inside the Octagon in five years, but the highly anticipated contest came to a sudden end after the 37-year-old sustained a serious right knee injury early in the opening round.
The injury occurred moments after McGregor threw a powerful roundhouse kick. He stumbled several times while clutching his knee, prompting referee Mike Beltran to stop the contest and award Holloway a technical knockout (TKO) victory.
The fight marked McGregor’s first UFC appearance since his 2021 defeat to Dustin Poirier, a bout that also ended in injury after he suffered a broken leg. Ahead of UFC 329, McGregor had described the rematch with Holloway as one of the greatest comeback stories in combat sports.
The showdown also revisited their first meeting in 2013, when McGregor defeated Holloway by unanimous decision in a featherweight contest. More than a decade later, the result was reversed in dramatic fashion.
Despite claiming victory, Holloway expressed sympathy for his former opponent, revealing that he realised something was wrong almost immediately and even attempted to alert the referee.
“I could feel it. The change in his expression and movement was obvious. I just hope he recovers quickly,” Holloway said after the fight.
