Conor McGregor hasn’t wasted any time communicating with the public and letting the world know his intentions after suffering a devastating knee injury in the main event of UFC 329. McGregor took to social media early on Monday to make it clear: he will be back, but surgery is first. He also made reference to his contract status with the UFC. Let’s talk MMA.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Result: Max Holloway def. Conor McGregor, TKO (injury), R1, 1:09, UFC 329, T-Mobile Arena
- The announcement: Monday Instagram post confirming surgery, prehab, and a return to competition
- Contract: One fight remaining on his UFC deal
- Diagnosis: Still unconfirmed. Dana White assumes a torn ACL. Dr. Brian Sutterer leans meniscus.
- Holloway’s position: Willing to wait into 2027 for a trilogy
What Did Conor McGregor Say About His Fighting Future?
McGregor knew what everyone was waiting to hear, and he gave it to us, well, some of it. He laid out the plan in five words. “Surgery. Prehab. Return to martial arts practice. Go again,” he wrote on Instagram, before adding the line that mattered most: “Final fight of the contract.”
The rest of the post was a faith statement. McGregor said his lifestyle changes are “permanent and not just until,” described his heart as heavy but his mind as strong through Christ, and wrote that he is “already back to collecting wins.”
That tone follows what we heard from him on Sunday, when he broke his silence with a raw post about being in a dark place. Forty-eight hours changed the register completely.
Is Conor McGregor Having Surgery On His Knee?
He says yes. What he has not said is what the surgery will repair, and that’s key.
McGregor has not released a diagnosis, and neither has the UFC. Dana White told reporters after the card that doctors were working under the assumption of a blown ACL. Dr. Brian Sutterer, reviewing the tape on YouTube, pushed back and said the tibia shift that confirms an ACL never appeared, pointing instead toward a lateral meniscus tear.
The gap between those two reads is the entire timeline. Sutterer put a meniscus repair at three to six months, sometimes less. An ACL at 37 is a year or more.
How Many Fights Does Conor McGregor Have Left On His UFC Contract?
McGregor has just one fight left, and you can tell he’s happy about it. He entered UFC 329 with two, and Holloway collected the first.
McGregor told Ariel Helwani last month that the final bout was already penciled for April 2027, and that the UFC never moved to extend him beyond the two he had left. For a promotion that reflexively locks up its stars, that is a loud silence, or it could mean they are trying to assess how much tread he has left on his tires. He turns 38 on Tuesday.
An April date now looks difficult under the optimistic diagnosis and impossible under the pessimistic one. The contract does not expire on a calendar, though. It expires on a fight.
What’s Next For Conor McGregor And Max Holloway?
Holloway made it clear. He is not moving on. He will be waiting for McGregor and the sizable payday that comes with him when he returns. Holloway said at the post-fight press conference that the ending was unsatisfying and that he wants to run it back, and he floated 2027 himself.
A trilogy fight (if that’s what you want to call it) would give the UFC something close to what it thought it bought when this rematch was made official in May, and it would let McGregor exit on a real fight rather than 69 seconds. That was never the plan McGregor sold when he laid out what was at stake going into International Fight Week, and it is not the plan he is selling now.
McGregor wants freedom to do other things, so the terms of his next contract, should he get one, could be interesting. He is still talking about big-money crossover business on the other side of this.
The MRI decides all of it. McGregor has decided what he wants it to say.