# One Minute, Max Pay: Inside the Bizarre Aftermath of UFC 329

**By Rosa Delgado**  \nPublished August 22, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> Thirteen years after their first clash, Conor McGregor and Max Holloway met at UFC 329. But a first-minute knee injury turned a mega-fight into a one-minute payday.

When Conor McGregor and Max Holloway locked horns in the main event of UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the combat sports world anticipated a high-stakes welterweight war. Instead, the highly promoted rematch evaporated in a flurry of sixty seconds. McGregor seemingly blew his knee out on the very first exchange, throwing a wild jumping switch kick that missed and buckled his leg. Two more falls later, the referee intervened, bringing a sudden halt to one of the most anticipated non-championship fights in promotion history.

For Holloway, the abrupt conclusion carried zero disappointment. The former featherweight king secured a career-high payday for minimal damage, walking away with a clean entry in the history books and a bizarre victory over his old rival.

Speaking with Megan Olivi on the Paramount+ YouTube channel following the event, Holloway embraced the unorthodox outcome with pragmatism.

> A win is a win, you know? Holloway said Paramount+ YouTube channel. A couple of people got wins over me that kinda piss me off. But at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, they’re gonna go down and look in the history books. They’re just gonna look at a piece of paper and see a W next to your name. So that’s what I’m taking it as.

Despite the anticlimactic finish, Holloway revealed that McGregor was fiercely resistant to the stoppage, urging his opponent and the official to let the contest continue even as his leg failed him.

> When I was in there, you could see me telling the ref, ‘Bro, this guy is done. Just [stop it],’ Holloway recounted Paramount+ YouTube channel. And the referee was telling me, ‘Bro, thank you for pushing me because that was a hard spot.’ And Conor’s crazy. Conor was like, ‘Fight! Fight!’ I was like, ‘You’re f--king crazy, bro.’ For the first one when he first fell down, he was like, ‘Fight! Fight!’ I’m good. And [then] we went down at the same time. I could just tell. Like, his whole demeanor changed. I was like, ‘Bro, just call the fight,’ you know?

## The Unfinished Business of 170 Pounds

The swift ending left lingering questions about how Holloway's 6.9-significant-strikes-per-minute volume would truly translate against a naturally bigger man at 170 pounds. Entering the night as the longest-priced underdog of his career following a five-year layoff and a surgically repaired leg, McGregor was attempting to prove his viability after going 1-3 in his previous four Octagon appearances.

Holloway acknowledged that he hoped to genuinely test the Irishman's reported welterweight power.

> I had him weak in the knees, Holloway noted Paramount+ YouTube channel. What can I say? At the end of the day, it is what it is. We gotta do a third. Hopefully, his injury not too crazy. I know he was saying that they wanted him back in April. I can do that. That’d be fun. I wanna actually feel this 170 weight and power that he says he has. So maybe we can do it back. Just right now, I’m just praying for the guy, all jokes aside, as a human being.

## What Lies Ahead

While Holloway expressed an appetite to run it back to truly experience the welterweight division, organizational doors appear closed on an immediate trilogy. UFC CEO Dana White ruled out a third fight with Holloway during the post-fight press conference. With McGregor holding just one fight remaining on his current UFC contract—and eyeing lucrative crossover events in boxing and bareknuckle fighting—UFC 329 stands as a definitive, if bizarre, bookend to their historic rivalry.

## Sources

- [sportsboom.us](https://www.sportsboom.us/ufc/exclusive-hall-of-famer-frankie-edgar-shares-prediction-for-conor-mcgregor-vs-max-holloway-rematch) — original
- [forbes.com](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmazique/2026/07/03/ufc-329-mcgregor-vs-holloway-whats-at-stake-and-everything-we-know/) — original
- [mmamania.com](https://www.mmamania.com/ufc-329-mcgregor-vs-holloway-2/456708/max-holloway-reveals-conor-mcgregor-didnt-want-ufc-329-bout-to-end-he-was-like-fight-fight) — original
- [mmafighting.com](https://www.mmafighting.com/ufc/497738/ufc-329-countdown-mcgregor-vs-holloway-2-video) — original