Nearly three weeks after Conor McGregor experienced a right knee injury in the opening seconds of his fight against Max Holloway, questions are growing about the true nature and severity of the damage.
Sports medicine physician Dr. Brian Sutterer has reviewed publicly available footage and social media posts from McGregor and believes the injury may not be the full ACL rupture many have assumed.
“I stress complete ACL because I think one thing we have to consider here is that this is just an ACL sprain and not actually a full thickness rupture of the ACL, which would play an important role in the timeline of all this treatment,” Dr. Sutterer said in a recent video.
The doctor pointed to the mechanism of injury as a key factor. In a typical complete ACL tear, there is a noticeable forward shift and backward pop of the tibia. That classic movement was not clearly visible when McGregor went down.
“We don’t see that classic shift forward and pop back of the tibia. That’ll be pathognomonic for an ACL tear,” Sutterer noted, adding that the mechanism fits more closely with a meniscus injury.
What raised further questions is McGregor’s apparent physical condition in the weeks following the fight. Sutterer pointed to videos of McGregor performing knee extensions and rowing with what appeared to be full range of motion and no visible swelling.
“You would look at this and not even know which knee was injured,” Sutterer said of the rowing footage. “Like this does not look in any way, shape or form like an acutely ACL ruptured, torn meniscus, like on your way to surgery knee.”
A complete ACL tear typically causes rapid swelling from blood pooling inside the joint, a condition known as hemarthrosis, along with severely limited range of motion and difficulty bearing weight. The absence of a brace on McGregor’s knee was also flagged by Sutterer, who explained that surgeons often require patients to wear a brace when waiting for a secondary ligament injury like an MCL sprain to heal before operating.
With no confirmed surgery date and McGregor’s stated goal of returning for IFW in 2027, Sutterer raised concern about the tightening recovery window. A standard ACL reconstruction carries a nine to twelve month recovery period, and at 38 years old, McGregor faces a far more demanding turnaround than his previous ACL surgery 13 years ago.
“There is likely more to this than what we know,” Sutterer said, noting that “it doesn’t seem to add up 100% with what we’re seeing timeline wise.”
He stopped short of suggesting McGregor fabricated the injury, instead raising the possibility that the ACL sustained damage but not to a degree requiring full reconstruction.
“I would love Conor to come back sooner than later and be able to watch him compete again,” Sutterer said, framing that outcome as the best-case scenario for both the athlete and fans.
