McGregor's coach says right knee 'never an issue'

Brett OkamotoJul 12, 2026, 03:19 PM ET

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Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.

Conor McGregor's right knee was "never an issue" ahead of UFC 329, according to his longtime head coach John Kavanagh.

McGregor (22-7) suffered a devastating loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas, when it appeared his right knee buckled after he threw a kick in the opening seconds of the bout. The welterweight contest was waved off after just 69 seconds.

It was McGregor's first appearance in five years, since he suffered a broken left leg during the first round of a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

The immediacy of the injury prompted some speculation on whether it might have been preexisting. McGregor has denied that speculation on social media, and Kavanagh reiterated the point Sunday.

"Devastated," Kavanagh wrote on Facebook. "That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup. 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."

McGregor, 37, has not revealed the exact extent of the injury. UFC CEO Dana White said Saturday he and UFC doctors believed it was likely a torn ACL, which McGregor suffered before in 2013. White also stated he did not believe McGregor went into the fight injured, pointing to McGregor's actions during the news conferences and weigh-in, in which he ran up on Holloway during a faceoff.

"If there was a preexisting injury, somebody would have noticed," White said. "I don't think there was. Anything is possible, but he sure didn't look like it. And for 80 million people [to watch him] on my account alone, that overall number has to be massive. Nobody noticed anything, so, there you go."