UFC CEO Dana White got a bit defensive after accusations surfaced on Saturday night that star fighter Conor McGregor, who was making his return to the octagon after a five-year absence, had been injured prior to his fight with Max Holloway to headline UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
McGregor lost to Holloway via TKO 69 seconds into the first round of Saturday’s fight. Subsequent reports indicated that the Irishman had injured his knee on the first kick of the fight, and was unable to continue afterwards.
Following the card, White seemed to have finished up his post-event press conference with reporters, but the UFC CEO oddly returned to the microphone to offer a bizarre defense of McGregor’s health based on the number of people who had watched a clip of McGregor prior to the fight on social media.
Weird moment;
Dana White leaves the press conference, but then comes back to say this about Conor McGregor 🤨 #UFC329 pic.twitter.com/d2ksuvcccP
— The Scrap (@TheScrapNews) July 12, 2026
“So, we were talking about the guy over here earlier asking about if there had been a pre-injury. Just on my accounts, the faceoff that day is at 80 million views. So if there was a preexisting injury, someone would’ve noticed it,” White claimed. “If he was limping, put his shoes on, he ran right at him. I don’t think there was [an injury]. Anything is possible, but he sure didn’t look like it. And for 80 million just on my accounts, that number’s gotta be massive, and no one’s noticed anything. So, there ya go.”
For the CEO of an MMA outfit to claim with any authority that a fighter was or was not injured based on how many people had watched a specific video clip on social media is nothing short of unconventional. But unconventional has never stopped White in the past.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.