Javier Mendez gave Conor McGregor respect after the ugliest possible ending to his UFC comeback, but he did not pretend the UFC 329 injury loss to Max Holloway was a normal defeat.
In an interview with Submission Radio, Mendez was asked about McGregor’s knee giving out against Holloway. The longtime American Kickboxing Academy coach said McGregor deserved either a real win or a real loss after putting himself through a five-year return, not a sudden ending where the fight barely got to breathe.
“Well, you know, to me it’s like to have a warrior like him train as hard as he did after a five-year layoff and come back, and to have something like that happen, your heart has to go out to the guy,” Mendez said. “Look, I may not like him as a person at times, but I have to respect what a great warrior he is.”
“And to see him go out that way is not the way I would want anyone to go out,” Mendez said. “You’d want him to go out with, you know, doing what they came out there to do, perform. You know, either the other man was the better man or you were the better man, but he beat himself on that one. And that’s the one that I feel for him because that’s not something that I would want for anybody.”
“He deserved to either become victorious or lose to Max,” Mendez added. “But that’s the way it needed to go.”
Mendez’s comments are below:
Javier Mendez pays respect to Conor McGregor, calling him a true warrior despite the heartbreaking ending to his return.🙏
“To have a warrior like Conor train as hard as he did after a five-year layoff and make a comeback, only for something like that to happen, your heart has… pic.twitter.com/R1QfRJibjY
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) July 13, 2026
Mendez Gives Holloway Credit For Backing Off
The other part of Mendez’s answer was aimed at Holloway. Instead of framing Holloway as lucky, Mendez praised him for recognizing the injury and not trying to turn a compromised opponent into a highlight-reel moment. Holloway has already said McGregor did not seem like the same Conor before the injury, while Dana White later pushed back on talk that McGregor looked hurt before the fight.
“You got to give all the credit due to Max, willing to step aside and go, ‘Look, man, the guy’s injured. You know, pay attention to his injury. I don’t want…’ You know, he could have easily capitalized on that, but he didn’t,” Mendez said.
“So to do that, what Max did, you got to give your hats off to that guy,” Mendez continued. “What a warrior he was by acknowledging that he wants a fair fight and he knows it wasn’t a fair fight. So I respected that from Max.”
The finish still counts. Holloway is now officially level with McGregor in their rivalry after McGregor won their 2013 meeting and Holloway took the 2026 rematch by injury TKO. But Mendez’s read cuts through the noise around the stoppage. McGregor did not get outclassed over several rounds, Holloway did not get the clean statement fight he wanted, and the ending left everyone staring at the same uncomfortable truth: the biggest comeback of the year was swallowed by one broken sequence.
That is why the reaction lane has been so crowded. Some fighters have gone after McGregor’s body and preparation, including Sean Strickland’s steroid-related injury theory. Mendez took a cleaner angle. He still said McGregor “beat himself,” but he also gave the Irishman credit for making the walk after half a decade away and gave Holloway credit for not treating a wrecked knee like a free target.
