Joe Rogan's instant response after hearing Conor McGregor could make return to UFC after injury

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has expressed his scepticism over the possibility of another return to the octagon for 37-year-old Conor McGregor.

McGregor made his first UFC appearance for five years and a day in Las Vegas on Saturday but his long-awaited rematch against Max Holloway lasted just 69 seconds.

The Irishman 'blew out' his knee while attempting his first high kick of the UFC 329 fight. McGregor was unable to continue and the fight was awarded to Holloway by technical knockout.

McGregor has now lost three fights in a row, albeit with a five-year gap in between the second and third, and the premature conclusion wasn't what anyone involved wanted from his comeback with the possible exception of Holloway's elated son at ringside.

Holloway quickly acknowledged that the bout wasn't added to his win record in the way he wanted, promising that a third match between himself and McGregor, who beat him by unanimous decision 13 years ago, would soon be in the works.

"Let's give it up for [McGregor], what an absolute animal. You guys are lucky because there is going to be a Holloway vs McGregor 3 now" said Holloway after his first welterweight outing at the T-Mobile Arena.

"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 170lb and fight this guy. For it to end like this, it sucks."

Not everyone is confident that McGregor can realistically get back to the levels required for such a fight to make the grade.

UFC chief Dana White suggested in the immediate aftermath that McGregor had suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), an injury that would keep McGregor, who turns 38 this week, out of the gym for months rather than weeks. That diagnosis has not been confirmed.

Discussing the fight with Rogan, fellow commentator Jon Anik said: "Wow, really seemed like [McGregor] was back for the right reasons, for legacy, and now potentially there will be another rebuild or not. We shall see."

Rogan reacted with an exaggerated wince, clearly suggesting that he harbours some doubt about the viability of another McGregor comeback.

'Doesn't mean that this is not an ACL tear'

Sports injury analyst Dr Brian Sutterer questioned White's immediate assessment. In a forensic review of the footage from the fight on his YouTube channel, Sutterer noted the possibility of an ACL rupture but pointed out where the available evidence might be contradictory.

"What you don't see on this injury is the classic pivot shift that you will sometimes see with an ACL tear," said Sutterer.

"Now that doesn't mean that this is not an ACL tear, but you at least don't see that stereotypic kind of pathognomonic shift forward of the tibia and then pop backwards like we would if you could confirm 100% that this was an ACL."

McGregor was taking part in a UFC fight for the first time since back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier in 2021.

Both of those defeats were also by TKO.