Conor McGregor knee injury may not be severe, doctor says

Conor McGregor's knee injury from UFC 329 may not be as serious as first feared, according to sports medicine physician Brian Sutterer.

McGregor buckled on his first strike of the Max Holloway rematch earlier this month and fell multiple times before the referee waved off the bout just over a minute into the fight. Ringside commentary and UFC CEO Dana White both suspected an ACL tear in the immediate aftermath, but Sutterer — who has not examined McGregor directly — sees reasons for optimism based on video the former two-division champion posted this week.

Doctor cites range of motion and lack of brace

In a post on X responding to McGregor's fan update, Sutterer noted that the Irishman was not wearing a knee brace and appeared comfortable sitting with at least 90 degrees of flexion. "Lack of a brace (assuming he didn't just take it off for the video) means no high-grade collateral ligament injury (MCL/LCL)," Sutterer wrote, per Sherdog. "Range of motion being at least 90deg of flexion and looking relatively comfortable is good."

Sutterer cautioned that the absence of a brace reveals nothing definitive about the ACL or meniscus, but the visible mobility suggests the damage may not be high-grade. McGregor told fans on Instagram that scan results will arrive soon and clarify the extent of the injury.

The former featherweight and lightweight champion has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and said he plans to return once cleared medically.

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• Sherdog — Conor McGregor knee injury may not be as bad as feared, doctor says