Conor McGregor’s long-awaited comeback lasted barely a minute after the Irishman suffered a brutal injury in the opening moments of his fight at UFC 329 on Saturday.After five years away from the sport, McGregor, 37, made his long-awaited return against Max Holloway at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – but there would be no fairytale ending for his die-hard fans who had made the journey to Sin City.Instead, McGregor ended the fight with his very first action after sprinting out and throwing a kick that missed his rival – and injured his knee in the process. As he landed, he buckled and fell to the ground, leaving the crowd stunned as McGregor refused to get back to his feet after just 10 seconds of the main event.Holloway seized his opportunity and began unleashing a barrage of punches on the clearly-injured Irishman, who battled through the pain to get back to his feet.However, seconds later, he tried the same kick again, with the same result. Conor McGregor’s long-awaited comeback ended in disaster at UFC 329 on Saturday night The Irishman blew his knee out after throwing a kick within the first seconds of the bout Max Holloway unleashed a barrage of punches down on the wounded McGregor in Las VegasHe fell to the floor and lay on his back as Holloway delivered a flurry of brutal punches to the downed Irishman in front of the stunned T-Mobile Arena crowd.Again, McGregor mustered the strength get back to his feet and managed to exchange some punches with Holloway – before buckling once more after throwing a huge left-hand towards his welterweight rival.As he lay on the ground, McGregor beckoned Holloway to engage on the ground – but even his welterweight rival was left bemused by the Irishman’s actions.Holloway refused to engage in a wrestling match and, instead, told the referee to allow McGregor back to his feet. That, in turn, was the beginning of the end.As he stood up again, McGregor was in clear discomfort and could barely support himself as he limped towards Holloway, prompting the referee to wave off the bout. There was no dramatic finish, no signature knockout blow from Holloway – just a sobering scene as McGregor limped off and his team rushed to his side. The Irishman was later seen, in videos that circulated social media, leaving the T-Mobile Arena almost immediately as he headed to the hospital. After the fight, McGregor swiftly broke his silence with a post on X. He wrote: ‘My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. ‘I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell.’The result brings a thoroughly deflating end to a five-year comeback that had been billed as one of the biggest events in UFC history – and will fuel fresh questions over whether the Irishman’s body can hold up at the top level. McGregor fell to the floor three times inside the opening minute of his comeback fight Referee Mike Beltran waved the fight off after McGregor was left in visible discomfort The Irishman was comforted by Bruce Buffer just moments after the fight endedMcGregor’s return had been five years in the making. His last appearance in the Octagon ended in gruesome fashion at UFC 264, when he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier that required emergency surgery and a lengthy road back. The years since brought further disruption, including injury withdrawals, an 18-month suspension for missed drug tests, backdated to September 2024 and only expiring this year, and a Dublin civil jury finding him liable in November 2024 for the sexual assault of Nikita Hand, for which he was ordered to pay $260,000 in damages.Whatever the questions over his conduct outside the cage, the fight had proved a box-office phenomenon before a punch – or in this case, a kick – was even thrown. Dana White revealed that UFC 329 did a $25 million gate, breaking the previous promotional record of $22 million set by UFC 306 at the Sphere in September 2024. ‘The Conor McGregor effect is huge,’ White said. ‘This gate beat it at $25million, so it’s the biggest gate in UFC history for his return. The city is buzzing.’ That record-breaking build-up now stands in stark contrast to an ending nobody could have scripted.Saturday’s result – a fresh injury sustained on the very first kick of his comeback – will raise immediate and painful questions about whether McGregor’s body can hold up at UFC level again, and about what, if anything, comes next for a 37-year-old whose career now carries almost as much baggage outside the Octagon as inside it.