UFC veteran Dustin Poirier says Conor McGregor’s ACL injury is ‘karma’

Conor McGregor’s much-awaited UFC return against Max Holloway did not go according to plan. At UFC 329 on Jul. 11, 2026, McGregor made his five-year-long return to the Octagon against his former rival, Holloway.

However, just 69 seconds into the match, McGregor injured his ACL and was ruled out. After tweaking his knee early in the match, McGregor repeatedly fell before the referee ruled him unfit to compete. Expected to be an ACL injury, McGregor is now rumored to undergo an MRI, which will then reveal more details about the setback.

After McGregor’s highly anticipated comeback failed to deliver, Dustin Poirier pointed out his mistakes and called it out as karma. “It couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” Dustin Poirier said on the Deep Waters podcast. “That injury couldn’t happen to a better guy. I saw earlier this week, he said, ‘Karma’s a mirror,’ and it definitely is. This guy’s a dirtbag.”

“I don’t know if it was nervous energy, [but] I don’t know why you would start a fight like that [with that kick],” Poirier continued. “[McGregor’s team] are saying this was planned to start the fight like that. There’s footage of him training to open the fight with this jump kick, but I just don’t understand why you would do that. That’s like a Hail Mary. You’re throwing a Hail Mary to start a 25-minute fight. I don’t understand what was going on with that.”

McGregor’s last match before Holloway was his 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, where the Irishman broke his shin bone. He was shortly after ruled out of action with the injury. Following a lengthy recovery and multiple controversies, McGregor finally came back against Holloway, only to get sidelined again. On the other hand, UFC legend Daniel Cormier believes McGregor won’t be returning.

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