Conor McGregor focuses on recovery after knee surgery, cites MMA legends

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 11: Conor McGregor of Ireland looks on before welterweight bout at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images Conor McGregor remains confident that he will be back in the octagon soon following surgery to address the devastating knee injury he suffered at UFC 329. This past Wednesday, McGregor announced he had successfully undergone surgery to repair a torn ACL he suffered in his comeback fight against Max Holloway this past July. That appearance marked McGregor’s first fight in five years and he is currently aiming to compete again next summer in what will be the final bout on his current UFC contract. McGregor shared a video to social media Friday updating his health status and comparing his recovery to MMA legends Dominick Cruz and Georges St-Pierre. “What’s up, folks?” McGregor said. ‘The Mac’ is back, baby. Surgery was a success and now I’m on the road to recovery. That should tell you all you need to know about my mindset. Straight into surgery, knee repaired, and on the road. Let’s go. “I want to give a shout-out to Dominick Cruz, who returned from multiple ACLs to recapture his bantamweight crown. Georges St-Pierre, multiple ACLs. I don’t know whether he returned after his second ACL, however he’s doing backflips and his movement is still stellar. Other notables in other sports, NFL, Tom Brady’s done it. Aaron [Rodgers] done it. These are my motivation here, especially the fighting boys. “Unstoppable, baby. My mindset is unstoppable, unbreakable.” Surgery done. Knee repaired. The doubters can keep talking. I didn’t run from the pain. I walked straight into it. Now the real work begins. Comeback season starts now. No shortcuts. No excuses. Just the will to rise again. pic.twitter.com/Oq77VDX3IJ — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 7, 2026 McGregor added the following caption: Surgery done. Knee repaired. The doubters can keep talking. I didn’t run from the pain. I walked straight into it. Now the real work begins. Comeback season starts now. No shortcuts. No excuses. Just the will to rise again. This is the second time in McGregor’s career that he has suffered an ACL injury that shelved him for the better part of a year. In a strange twist of fate, he also injured his knee the first time he fought Holloway in August 2013, though he still went on to win that fight and returned in July 2014 to defeat Diego Brandao. “Notorious” went on to become a champion at featherweight and later lightweight. McGregor, 38, saw five years of his career pass between fights after breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. He remained on the sidelines as he recovered from that injury, saw another injury derail a comeback attempt at UFC 303 in 2024, and has also seen his fighting career paused by other issues including being found liable for sexual assault in a civil suit later that same year.

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Conor McGregor is pressing forward with his recovery after a successful knee surgery, and he’s using several MMA greats as motivation for his eventual comeback. McGregor injured his right knee off the first kick of his fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329. The bout was a disaster, and so was the eventual diagnosis: two […]