Pimblett Declares McGregor 'Finished' After UFC 329 Injury

Paddy Pimblett had bad news for Conor McGregor, saying he is finished after his loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329.

"Oh my god, McGregor's done already? He's finished, the new boy is in town. I can become the face of the organisation now,” Pimblett

McGregor's return lasted less than a round. The leg injury came on the first offensive action of the fight — a spinning kick from the opening bell that sent him down awkwardly on his right side. He tried to continue, slipped and fell to the canvas a second time unable to bear weight, and referee Mike Beltran waved it off. The most anticipated return in recent UFC history was over before the crowd had settled.

For Holloway, who had done nothing wrong and won nothing meaningful, the outcome was deeply unsatisfying. He addressed it directly with Joe Rogan in the octagon.

"Let's give it up for Conor McGregor — what an absolute animal. You guys are lucky because there is going to be a Holloway v McGregor three now. Let's get that money. It is what it is. I'll sit down with the UFC. There was so much hype for that. We have to run it back one more time. We need one more. I was looking forward to this. I was working hard to get to 170 pounds and fight this guy. For it to end like this, it sucks,” Holloway

The generosity was notable. Holloway had every reason to be frustrated — months of preparation for a fight that produced no competitive result — and instead he called for a third meeting and spent his octagon time building McGregor up.

McGregor has not won a fight since knocking out Donald Cerrone in forty seconds at UFC 246 in January 2020. The leg break against Poirier in 2021, the cancelled Chandler fight in 2024 when the toe went in sparring, and now this — a new injury on a different leg, on the first kick of his long-awaited comeback. The pattern is now unavoidable.

Whether McGregor fights again depends on the severity of the injury, on his own appetite after what Saturday night produced, and on whether the UFC and his team believe another return is commercially viable and physically sustainable. The one fight remaining on his contract could be the Holloway trilogy Holloway called for, or it could expire unused.

Pimblett's "new boy is in town" declaration was theatrical, as most Pimblett declarations are, but it landed in a moment that gave it weight. He finished his fight in under a minute. McGregor's finished him in under a minute too, in the worst possible way. The torch — if it is being passed — was not handed over. It was dropped on the canvas at T-Mobile Arena while a referee waved his arms. The face of the UFC question is now genuinely open.