Gina Carano has pushed back on the idea that Conor McGregor’s UFC 329 loss was somehow rigged.
McGregor’s first fight in five years ended in a 69-second TKO loss to Max Holloway on Saturday after he injured his knee in the opening moments, and some disappointed fans floated conspiracy theories online. Carano responded by sharing Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” passage on Instagram, adding a lengthy caption that dismantled the “rigged” talk.
You know how much trouble you get in if anything is off or the fight is rigged in a professional fight, especially ones where huge money is involved? The FBI is all over this sport presently, if you’ve been paying attention. If someone’s going to rig a fight, 2026 would be the absolute dumbest time to do that.
The women’s MMA pioneer framed the result as proof of the sport’s stakes rather than evidence of a fix.
It’s just REAL. And real outcomes aren’t always fun. The stakes wouldn’t be so high and the sport so amazing if we all got the storybook ending we think we want.
Carano knows the feeling of a comeback gone sideways. Earlier this year, she returned from a 17-year layoff to face Ronda Rousey atop Netflix’s first live MMA card and was submitted in just 17 seconds, a lopsided result that drew its own wave of disbelief. Her post read as a defense of herself as much as of McGregor.
