Conor McGregor is back. And there goes Conor McGregor.
Saturday’s UFC 329 main event failed to live up to the hype – an understatement, we know – with McGregor lasting just 69 seconds before an injury stopped his rematch with Max Holloway. This was McGregor’s first fight since 2021 and it’s difficult to imagine a worse scenario than what a packed house at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas witnessed.
Prior to that disappointment, several fighters put on star performances including Paddy Pimblett, Brandon Royval, Robert Whittaker, and Gable Steveson, but the fallout of the headliner is sure to cast a long shadow. The MMA Fighting crew hits the roundtable to discuss the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 329
1. What’s your blurb review of UFC 329?
Heck: All-time card – until that damn bell rang in the main event.
Meshew: You got the full MMA experience: a great fight, a sick sub, some good finishes, one squash match, and hilarious disappointment.
Martin: Everything you could want in a card … until the main event.
2. Where can Conor McGregor realistically go from here?
Heck: Folks, you’re going to LOVE this (probably not).
Before we get there, what happened in the main event was a disaster for everybody involved. All week long, the buzz for McGregor’s return was rising by the day. Vegas was ready for the big return, and the rest of the athletes that competed on Saturday couldn’t have set the table better. Then what happened, well, happened. Conor McGregor is not going to retire (at least, I don’t think he will), and as I was walking from the arena to the media tent at T-Mobile Arena, I sought out any kind of silver lining for anybody at all… and I found it!
Where can McGregor realistically go? Into his last UFC bout against Michael Chandler, thus proving that if you truly believe, you, indeed, can achieve!
I think a lot of people are completely wrong about what happened Saturday, because while blowing out your knee is never a good thing, in this instance, it’s not a terrible outcome for McGregor. Yes, McGregor is now likely looking at another long layoff, but that was allegedly happening anyway with the UFC targeting a final fight for him no later than April. Now, that timeline gets bumped back a few months, but also, McGregor’s viability didn’t take a massive hit.
Remember, the whole point of all of this for McGregor is simply to fight out his UFC contract so he can hit the free market and start making real money. Getting thumped up by Max could detract from future interest. An injury, however, does not. Sure, some people are miffed about the whole thing now, but in a year, this is just fuel for another McGregor comeback story. And now, instead of getting slaughtered by Ilia Topuria or Paddy Pimblett, McGregor probably gets to fight Max for his last one. In the grand scheme of things, this probably worked out well for him.
Lee: Retirement, which I understand is tricky.
McGregor can’t simply walk away from fighting, not when he has so much bankability left, especially if he can move on to fights in boxing or BKFC or maybe even his own promotion. However, he also can’t do much with one fight left on his UFC deal, because as long as that’s the case, they essentially own him. Just ask Jorge Masvidal, who has participated in other combat sports ventures since “retiring” in 2023, but acknowledged he has to communicate with the UFC before booking anything outside of the promotion.
So unless McGregor has a one-of-a-kind deal (possible), that one remaining fight keeps him locked up. And I don’t care to see him in the octagon again. So if I have to predict whether McGregor fights out his contract or never fights again, I’m leaning towards the latter.
Martin: Assuming McGregor tore his ACL and he’s looking at another year off — or possibly even longer — then he should probably just call it a career but he probably won’t.
No fighter in history wants to be told to walk away and there’s very little chance McGregor is somehow the exception to that rule. He wants to go out on his own terms and potentially breaking free from his UFC contract to go do a fight in BKFC or somewhere else where he’ll make the lion’s share of the profits is ultimately what McGregor gains from coming back again. The problem is McGregor is going to face skepticism from just about everybody involved in the fight game about whether or not he’ll actually make it back to the cage again.
What’s most likely? McGregor has surgery, recovers and the process starts all over again. He’ll promise he’s ready to fight, the UFC gives him an opponent and then the clock starts ticking on whether or now he actually stays health enough to compete. Watch and see.
3. What did Max Holloway gain from this win?
Heck: A HUGE payday where he didn’t have to lay any mitts on his opponent, and more importantly for Holloway, some time off with his family.
Could he have gained a heck of a lot more if things were different? Of course. Holloway is going to get another big fight next, and he might somehow find his way into a third fight with McGregor and a whole bunch more money. Trying to put myself in Holloway’s shoes, yeah, the competitor is a little bummed, but for the things that are so important to him outside of the fight game, this was actually a great result for him.
Honestly, that’s it. Had Max won a real fight, we could debate what it did for his star power and future earning potential. But the injury happened so fast that he gained nothing from it other than a paycheck, and apparently some delusions about beating Islam Makhachev.
Lee: A ton of respect from fans and fighters.
As unsatisfying as the fight was in every possible way, Holloway’s reputation as one of MMA’s good guys is only further enhanced after he held back from straight-up slaughtering McGregor. Holloway clearly had no interest in continuing the fight once it became obvious McGregor was compromised, and he all but called for the stoppage himself in pointing out the injury to referee Mike Beltran. It’s always fun to remember that one of the UFC’s great All-Violence fighters is also one of its classiest.
Martin: A big paycheck but more importantly he didn’t lose anything.
Heading into UFC 329, Holloway was in a tough spot. He got mauled on the ground by Charles Oliveira in his last outing but Holloway also has an all-time great knockout over the current UFC lightweight champion in Justin Gaethje so he knew the stakes. If he knocked out McGregor, there’s a real world where the UFC said screw the results, let’s just run it back with Holloway vs. Gaethje 2. But if Holloway somehow lost, he was potentially entering that territory where the UFC starts building up young guys by matching them up against the former featherweight and “BMF” champion. With Saturday night’s result, Holloway gets to enjoy a massive payday, some time off for most or maybe the rest of 2026 and he’s still in position to face another big name next whether that’s Paddy Pimblett, Ilia Topuria, Arman Tsarukyan or somebody else.
4. Is Paddy Pimblett poised to become the face of the UFC?
Heck: I don’t know if he’ll become the face of the UFC, but he’s over like Rover, that’s for sure.
Pimblett’s walkout on Saturday was one of the most electric I’ve seen in person. The crowd was into it, and they were rewarded by a crazy finish. Paddy winning a title would certainly help in this case, and he’s certainly poised to face a guy next that will help get him closer to that mark.
After both lost to Justin Gaethje earlier this year, Pimblett vs. Ilia Topuria is the way to go. That can headline a numbered event without a title right now. That’s how big and high-stakes that fight would be. But Pimblett’s got options, and all of them are big.
While Holloway didn’t gain anything because of the injury in the main event, Pimblett gained an enormous amount. Paddy was already one of the most famous guys in the UFC, and now he’s the biggest winner on a card that was headlined by Conor McGregor.
That being said, being the face of an organization almost always depends on holding a title, and while Pimblett is a top 5 guy, I still think a belt might elude him. Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria both appear to be difficult fights for him, and they aren’t leaving anytime soon. But if he can keep leveling up, then yes. He’s the guy.
Lee: I’ve been higher on Pimblett than most since he made his way over from Cage Warriors so, yeah, I’ll say it: Pimblett will be the UFC’s biggest star in 2027.
Not only is Pimblett proving that he’s actually kind of good as a fighter, he’s also shown on every occasion that he has the “it factor” so many athletes are desperate to attain. He’s a love-him-or-hate-him dude and as long as the voices are growing on both sides, that’s good business for Pimblett and the UFC. If he gets that fight with Charles Oliveira and actually becomes “BMF” champion, don’t be surprised if he reaches another tier of superstardom, just below the likes of Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar.
Martin: Yes, absolutely and Saturday night solidified it.
The Conor McGregor effect is real but usually it’s beating the Irish superstar that puts somebody over the top and transforms them from being a viable name to a legitimate superstar. Just ask Nate Diaz or Dustin Poirier about that. But Pimblett got that rub by just serving as the co-main event on a Conor card and then going out and dusting a very dangerous opponent like Benoit Saint Denis in the first round. Pimblett was already a star but UFC 329 may have been his last stop from headlining every single event he’s involved with moving forward. In other words get ready to hear a lot of “Oh Paddy the Baddy” in a UFC main event coming in the very near future.
5. Aside from Pimblett, who was the biggest winner of UFC 329?
Heck: Cookies for everyone!
A lot of people had a great time this week in Las Vegas, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a fighter enjoy a fight week process more than Robert Whittaker did ahead of his light heavyweight debut, and then he got a knockout in Round 3. Whittaker has truly found happiness leaving the middleweight division, and with his popularity and legacy, “Bobby Knuckles” might be able to do something very fun in a division that needs fun as much as possible. Whittaker delivered a great showing and now has some interesting options in front of him. The guy felt like the biggest winner in the world on Saturday, and it was very cool to see.
Meshew: Everyone who embraced their inner child and bet the Damian Pinas-Wang Cong parlay. In the words of Mark Twain, adults are just obsolete children, and to hell with them.
Lee: “Raw Dawg,” you’ve done it again.
Simply put, Brandon Royval is one of my favorite fighters of all-time and it’s because of efforts like the one he put forth against Lone’er Kavanagh on Saturday. The pound-for-pound best gatekeeper in MMA, Royval didn’t fight like someone desperate to hold onto his spot in the rankings. He fought to win, and while that go-for-broke style resulted in him getting rocked in Round 2, it’s also why he continues to thrive against younger competition even as he approaches his 34th birthday.
Royval never fails to disappoint and after collecting a well-deserved Fight of the Year trophy (shout-out to Joshua Van) at the World MMA Awards, he’ll also cash a $100,000 bonus check for delivering UFC 329’s Fight of the Night (his third in his past four outings).
Martin: Gable Steveson is the future of the UFC heavyweight division and Saturday night was just a small taste of what’s to come.
With an absurd amount of pressure on him, and expectations through the roof, Steveson decided to abandon his Olympic level wrestling and just slug it out with Elisha Ellison. Now that’s probably not the game plan he wants to use in every fight moving forward but Steveson set the stage for what he’s capable of doing in the octagon. He’s an athletic freak with ever developing skills — did you see those Jon Jones’ kicks to the knees? — and at 26 years old, he’s got age on his side, which is something most heavyweights can’t say. Even Dana White was impressed by his performance!
Jump on the Gable Steveson bandwagon now because he’s going to be hunting for UFC gold sooner than later.
6. Aside from McGregor, who was the biggest loser of UFC 329?
Lee: This is a bummer to say, but Cory Sandhagen had a night to forget. Literally.
It’s not even that Sandhagen fought poorly in losing a decision to the always underrated Mario Bautista. It was a competitive contest, and Sandhagen showed much of the skills that have made him a fan favorite and a darkhorse contender. But sandwiched in between Pimblett’s incredible finish of Saint Denis, and the Royval-Kavanagh banger, it would take something exceptional for Sandhagen to stand out. Instead, he lost his third fight in his past four appearances.
Sandhagen finally received a long-awaited title shot in 2025, and after falling short, it’s fair to ask if the best days of “The Sandman” are behind him.
Martin: Once again Benoit Saint Denis fell short in his biggest moment and a trend is developing here.
Back in our UFC 329 preview on The Fighter vs. The Writer, I told Matt Brown that my concern with BSD was the struggles he faced in the two most notable opportunities of his career. He went to war with Dustin Poirier and it looked like he was going to win … until he didn’t. BSD followed that up by getting beat on by Renato Moicano in his first UFC main event in his hometown of Paris. I was concerned that maybe BSD is just not a big game performer and what happened on Saturday sadly just solidified that opinion. Maybe BSD bounces back, climbs the ranks again and pulls off a huge win against a top-five opponent but so far I’m just not seeing it.
Heck: Damon is correct with his Benoit Saint Denis selection, and it’s not close.
However, I’m going to agree with Dana White on something — the UFC is very bad with the celebrity shots in the crowd and the lower thirds. It happened again on Saturday night when Shakur Stevenson, the biggest Zuffa Boxing signing made official to date, was shown on screen as Jalen Williams. What? White was livid about it, and rightfully so.
This can’t happen. There’s a lot that’s frustrating about the Paramount deal when it comes to going back and rewatching events in their entirety and other faults, but you just can’t get these things wrong. I know we’re all human and make mistakes, but c’mon, man! This type of thing happens a lot, but something tells me White’s reaction to this in a big public setting will sharpen things up moving forward. But this was very bad, and it happened a lot this week and throughout the year.
Meshew: Total nonsense. Benoit Saint Denis may have lost, but winning and losing are ancillary concerns for a man like him. BSD got that bozo in him, and we love him because of it, not in spite of it.
No, the biggest loser is Ilia Topuria, who was probably going to get to put Conor to the sword next year and elevate himself to “biggest star in the sport” territory. “El Matador” can’t catch a break in 2026.
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