Conor McGregor’s Coach Shares Recovery Update As Questions Grow Over His Next UFC Appearance

Conor McGregor’s coach shares an update on his recovery and potential UFC comeback.© NDTV Library

Conor McGregor left UFC 329 with a knee injury, and according to his coach he was asking about surgery almost right away. John Kavanagh told The Ariel Helwani Show how the Irishman handled the first few days, and it sounds like disappointment didn't last long. The fight with Max Holloway on July 11, 2026 was stopped after just 69 seconds. McGregor landed awkwardly on his right knee after a kick in the opening seconds, and a scheduled five-round main event was over in the first round.

Conor McGregor Immediately Asked About Surgery and Recovery After His Fight With Max Holloway Ended

Kavanagh described McGregor's mood after the fight as a mix of emotions, but the former two-division UFC champion was already asking what could happen next.

“You're in that rollercoaster of emotion, you're just a bit all over the place,” Kavanagh told The Ariel Helwani Show. He added that McGregor quickly asked about surgery options and recovery time, since he had been through coming back from injury before. 

Right after the fight, McGregor's camp hadn't confirmed what the injury was. UFC president Dana White said he and the UFC doctors believed it was likely a torn ACL.

There was also the talk about whether McGregor was hurt before he even walked out. 

Kavanagh wrote on Facebook that the opening kick had been drilled daily for months and that the knee was never an issue, and McGregor himself called the idea nonsense on X. 

White said much the same, that somebody would have noticed a preexisting problem.

Conor McGregor Faces a Long Road Back as His Coach Shares an Update on His UFC Future

McGregor had not fought in more than five years. He last stepped into the Octagon five years and a day before the Holloway fight, and that one ended with a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021. So this was the second straight time a comeback bout got cut short by injury, which makes the timing hard to ignore.

Kavanagh pointed to family time as something that helped during recovery. McGregor had his children around, and that gave him something else to think about besides the knee.

“I thought that was great for Conor as well that he had his brain being kept busy with family stuff as much as he could, entertaining the kids and just getting on with it,” Kavanagh said. “There's no point in dwelling on it.”

Kavanagh hasn't ruled out another UFC return. He says he has known McGregor for 22 years, and in that time he believes the Irishman has done plenty that others would call impossible.

“[McGregor] says he does [fight again]... So, if he says he does [fight again], I'm not gonna doubt him,” Kavanagh said.