UFC 329 Feels Like the End of the Road for Conor McGregor's MMA Career

The walkout. Let's start with the walkout, because the rest is, frankly, an overwhelming mess that rocks the very foundations of a sport and the future of its biggest star.

It was, as expected, electric.

For the first time in more than five years, Conor McGregor arrived in the octagon with his trademark strut and a fancy new mohawk. Oh, he looked the part. He nailed the press conference. He looked in shape. All systems were a go heading into Saturday night.

T-Mobile Arena was alive. MMA alive. The feelings were both familiar and new, a mix of nostalgia and optimism that the hype would somehow be realized.

Sixty-nine seconds and one grotesque knee buckle later, and McGregor's comeback was over.

Done. Just like that. And one could argue, and we will momentarily, that much more than his latest fight ended in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

His knee, with the damage unknown, seemed destroyed. And Max Holloway, a familiar foe over many years, was left pleading with referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight before any further damage was done.

Perhaps it was an early failed kick seconds after the first round began that caused the damage. Maybe he was hurt coming into the fight. Maybe it was the broken left leg that caused his right knee to collapse.

No matter the injury's origin, the most anticipated fight of the year—the return of UFC's biggest star after a 1,800-day absence—ended in silence, shock, and disappointment.

For a sport in constant search of megastars, Saturday night was a major blow. For Holloway, who was paid either way handsomely, it was an anticlimactic letdown.

For the fans who waited years to see exactly what McGregor would look like, what a clunker. This was historically unfortunate. Those same fans are left wondering the same questions, now with another massive obstacle added in.

For McGregor, who seemed to truly re-immerse himself in his old role in the buildup, both in preparation and ultimate hype machine, it's hard not to see this as anything but the end.

His face and reaction were sadly familiar. In fact, when McGregor broke his leg in July of 2021, the reactions were parallel. We questioned whether his skills were diminishing then, having lost three of his last five fights—albeit against exceptional opponents.

Now, with a potential major injury seemingly in the picture, the end has arrived.

Maybe he fights again. Heck, maybe McGregor and Holloway will try to run this back sometime next year. Holloway, who had a short but fruitful night at the office, certainly seemed eager for the potential of a trilogy. Of course he did.

The interest will still be there. McGregor's star power was in hibernation for five years, and we still cared.

Oh, did we care.

A year from now, or whenever a potential fight is made, the masses will still tune in. AVID MMA fans and curious onlookers will still flock to screens to see what happens, but interest will dwindle. It has to now.

Saturday night sadly left us with more questions than answers. It left us still curious to some degree, although that curiosity is fleeting. Deep down, we know.

The reality seems more straightforward. A 37-year-old MMA legend, a rare winner at two weight classes and the greatest showman in sports, is hurt once again.

The biggest personality MMA has ever seen, a man whose presence wasn't replaced in his absence, is likely sidelined yet again for an undetermined time.

While we won't speculate on the extent of the injury -- although Dana White believes it's a torn ACL -- the optics tell us plenty. The slow-motion replays became more difficult to watch. McGregor's dejection spoke volumes.

Perhaps McGregor will come back when he heals. He'll have a financial incentive to do so, even after his latest fight. But the aura surrounding the showman is dwindling, and it's impossible to envision it coming back in any form.

He threw one kick. Then he fell. Then he fell again. Then the awkwardness of a larger-than-life fight gone astray took over. Then the fight was over.

The lasting image of Saturday night won't be the strut, the mohawk, or the majestic walkout that made the sport believe once again. It will be the video of McGregor limping out of the arena before Holloway's hand was even raised, left to wonder if we'll ever see him again.