Conor McGregor wants money returned to the people who bet on him, and his loss to Max Holloway expunged. McGregor called for his 69-second TKO loss at UFC 329 to be overturned to a no contest, thereby entitling bettors to a refund.
McGregor’s triumphant return last weekend ended with a whimper. The former two-division UFC champion stepped into T-Mobile Arena five years after breaking his leg under the same roof. After his first strike, a jumping switch kick ill-advised for an athlete returning from a leg injury, it was clear he was compromised.
Now, McGregor wants to erase that moment from the record books.
“I will have the results of the scan on my leg tomorrow,” McGregor wrote on his Instagram Story on Wednesday night. “The fight should be a no contest and all bets returned.”
UFC 329: Conor McGregor’s newest injury sums up disappointing end to what could have been his redemption tour
Brian Campbell
The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which presided over Saturday’s event in Las Vegas, largely follows the Association of Boxing Commissions’ Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The rules are very clear about what constitutes a no contest.
“When a contestant is prematurely stopped due to accidental injury and a sufficient amount of time has not been completed to render a decision via the scorecards,” the Unified Rules of MMA explains.
Accidental injuries are very rare. An injury caused by an opponent’s legal strikes or a fighter’s own actions, such as jumping kicks or a misstep, is not considered accidental. That’s why UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall suffered a loss to Curtis Blaydes after throwing a leg kick and suffering a knee injury 15 seconds into their July 2022 fight.
There are generally two conditions for an accidental injury: one caused by an illegal move or an external factor. If Holloway injured McGregor by landing an unintentional illegal strike, the referee may have rendered a no contest. Examples of external factors include environmental ones, such as a fighter’s foot getting caught between the fence and mat, causing an injury, or a bottle flying from the crowd and cutting a fighter’s head.
It’s very unlikely the NSAC will overturn the results since it appears that McGregor initiated the action that caused his injury. Books have no obligation to refund bettors if the result remains a TKO loss.
The only other reason, in this hypothetical, that bettors would be refunded is if McGregor and/or the UFC knowingly concealed a pre-fight injury. However, both parties have expressed that McGregor was healthy heading into the fight.
“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,” McGregor posted online immediately after the fight. “This came out of nowhere.”
“If there was a preexisting injury, somebody would have noticed,” UFC CEO Dana White reported at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I don’t think there was. Anything is possible, but he sure didn’t look like it.”
McGregor’s admission that he fought healthy gives him no leg to stand on.
