Matt Brown on Conor McGregor knee injury: Fighter was nervous

Retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown believes Conor McGregor was battling nerves before blowing out his knee with the opening kick of his comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329.

McGregor's return ended in catastrophe when the former two-division champion suffered a devastating knee injury on a spinning roundhouse kick in the first round. The Irishman had spent five years recovering from a broken leg sustained against Dustin Poirier in 2021, making the result at T-Mobile Arena his worst possible outcome.

Brown credits Holloway's pre-fight read on McGregor

Brown dismissed speculation that McGregor was already compromised before the fight. Speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, as reported by MMA Fighting, he said the injury stemmed from McGregor's mental state rather than a pre-existing condition. Brown credited Holloway for nailing the diagnosis beforehand, saying McGregor lacked the evidence to back up his usual bravado after years away from winning. The veteran argued that contradiction created internal doubt despite McGregor's outward confidence.

Brown added that McGregor needed a warmup opponent instead of a top-five lightweight like Holloway but acknowledged the UFC does not build those matchups for its biggest names. He compared the situation to boxing, where tune-up fights are standard after long layoffs.

McGregor posted on Monday that he plans to undergo surgery, recover, and return for what he called the final fight of his UFC contract. Brown suggested the promotion now faces a dilemma if McGregor intends to leave for free agency, where BKFC, boxing, or independent MMA bouts against names like Nate Diaz or Jake Paul could await.

The UFC cannot afford to obviously bury McGregor with an impossible matchup, Brown said, but also needs to protect its brand if the fighter will not re-sign. McGregor is scheduled for surgery in the coming weeks.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Matt Brown reacts to Conor McGregor’s injury, plans to return for ‘final fight’ in UFC: ‘The motherf*cker was nervous’