The atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was electric for UFC 329, charged with the anticipation of Conor McGregor’s return after a five-year absence.

But the air was sucked out of the building just 69 seconds into the main event, transforming a celebratory comeback into a haunting scene of deja vu as McGregor collapsed with a catastrophic right leg injury.

For McGregor, Saturday night provided a definitive answer to a five-year question. His physical performance was impossible to gauge beyond his movement, which appeared compromised almost immediately. His rhythm seemed off from the opening bell, characterized by multiple uncharacteristic slips on the canvas.

Before his conditioning could truly be tested in the welterweight division, the unfortunate injury occurred while throwing a kick, rendering questions about ring rust or his cardio at 170 pounds moot for now.

My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 12, 2026

“I had no injury/injuries going into the fight,” McGregor wrote on his X account after the fight. “I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell.”

Looking ahead, this result positions the former two-division champion — who turns 38 on Tuesday — at a harrowing career crossroads. Having sustained a severe injury mirroring his UFC 264 exit against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, the question of whether he can — or should — continue to compete at this level is the only one that matters.

Any potential matchmaking talks are indefinitely sidelined as McGregor faces yet another grueling rehabilitation process, although Max Holloway — who won by TKO at 1:09 of the first round when his opponent was forced to retire — appears OK with waiting for him.

On the other side of the Octagon, Holloway’s brief performance demonstrated his poise as he navigated the jump to 170 pounds. He looked comfortable in the center of the cage, using distance management to frustrate McGregor before the fight ended prematurely. Holloway executed his game plan by staying disciplined, even if he didn’t get the opportunity to fully test his power at the new weight class.

For Holloway, whose career has long been a source of immense pride for his home state of Hawaii, this outcome cements his status as a resilient, adaptable champion, though it leaves his next move ambiguous.

With massive regional interest across the islands, his ability to secure a win on the sport’s biggest stage — regardless of how it ended — keeps him in the spotlight. The 34-year-old must now decide if his future remains at 170 pounds or if a return to the lightweight title picture is imminent.

Ultimately, UFC 329 will be remembered for the duality of its results: the heartbreaking uncertainty surrounding McGregor and the continued excellence of Holloway.

As the promotion heads into the summer’s remainder, the event serves as a stark reminder of the sport’s volatility. The landscape of the welterweight division remains in flux, leaving fans and the organization alike to grapple with the reality that the sport’s biggest nights can turn on a single step.

–Zain Bando, Field Level Media

Now that they’re guaranteed to win a home series for the first time since May, the Baltimore Orioles look to tack on more success before the visiting Kansas City Royals leave town.

The teams complete a three-game series Sunday afternoon in the final game before the All-Star break. Both teams occupy last place in their respective American League divisions.

“We’ve got to win as many games as possible,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “Our guys know that.”

The Orioles won for the second night in a row with Saturday’s 6-1 decision. That sent Kansas City to its fourth consecutive defeat.

Baltimore is enjoying a three-game winning streak, but the Orioles have yet to win four in a row this year, failing in each of their first seven chances to do so.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has at least one hit in seven of nine games this month — while drawing two walks in one of the other games. He’ll be going to the All-Star Game for the third time in the coming week.

“For me, it’s just a culmination of that to be able to get here now and to just kind of continue to progress,” said Rutschman, whose batting average dipped to .253 with Saturday’s 0-for-4 line.

The Orioles used power strokes in Saturday’s game, with four of their six hits leaving the yard. They stranded only one runner on base.

Albernaz said there was a buzz in the stadium from the get-go and that makes a difference.

“You felt (the energy) from the crowd, and our boys felt that,” Albernaz said of the energy.

The Royals should get another look at first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino in the lineup. He returned to action Saturday night after nearly a month on the injury list with a hand ailment. He went 0-for-3 with one walk.

“At the end of the day, you got to put numbers up,” Pasquantino said. “That’s the name of this game. Just do whatever I can to help this team put wins on the scoreboard.”

Right-hander Shane Baz (4-9, 4.21 ERA) will be the second nine-loss starter to work in as many days for the Orioles. He has lost his last three decisions, with his last victory coming one month ago from Sunday.

Baz didn’t record a decision in an April 21 outing at Kansas City despite allowing four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. In three career starts vs. the Royals, he’s 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA over 20 innings.

Right-hander Seth Lugo (3-6, 4.56) will start for Kansas City after a rough outing Tuesday against the New York Mets, who dinged him for nine runs (six earned) on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He didn’t take the loss, though, with the Royals pulling out a 16-12 win.

Still. Lugo has only one victory since May 24. On the flip side, he fired seven shutout innings against visiting Baltimore in an April 20 game, though he didn’t factor into the decision that day in Kansas City’s 12-inning 7-5 loss. He has faced the Orioles five times (three starts), with a 1-1 record and 2.01 ERA covering 22 1/3 innings.

After winning two of three games at Kansas City in April, Baltimore has already clinched the season series against the Royals ahead of the final game between them.

–Field Level Media

The New York Yankees will go for the series sweep against the Washington Nationals on Sunday as the teams close out the first half and enter the All-Star break.

After losing 11 of 13 games, the Yankees have won three straight, the last two coming via dramatic late-inning comebacks against the struggling Nationals bullpen.

On Friday night, the Yankees hit two home runs in a three-run ninth and won 5-3. Saturday, they smacked three homers in a four-run eighth and beat the Nationals 4-2.

In the finale, New York turns to right-hander Will Warren (7-4, 4.15 ERA), who will be opposed by Washington right-hander Cade Cavalli (5-4, 3.88).

The Yankees are 12-6 overall in Warren’s starts this season but have lost his last four as he has pitched to a 6.53 ERA and given up six home runs in that stretch. In his last start, Warren allowed six runs on seven hits (three of them homers) in four innings of a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Warren gave up back-to-back homers to Hunter Feduccia and Yandy Diaz in a four-run fourth inning.

“I didn’t do a good job of landing my offspeed early, so they were selling out to the fastball,” Warren said.

The 27-year-old Warren has never faced the Nationals.

Cavalli returns after a five-game suspension for his part in a bench-clearing scuffle against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 30. That day, he tossed seven strong innings, striking out a career-high 13 while allowing one unearned run and picking up the win. Last time out on July 5, he lasted just 2 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and gave up four runs (three earned).

Cavalli threw just 63 pitches and told Nats Journal he was feeling light-headed on a hot, humid Sunday afternoon.

“It was just a really weird feeling that I was having,” he said. “But it’s no excuse for how I threw the ball. I wanted to go out there and compete for my guys and not have the physical strain of how I was feeling affect anything.”

Cavalli lost his only previous start against New York, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in 2 1/3 innings last August.

After lefty-lefty matchups failed on Friday, Nationals manager Blake Butera went righty-lefty on Saturday with similar negative results. Right-handed relievers Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter combined to surrender home runs to left-handed batters Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham as well as righty Paul Goldschmidt.

“I’m searching right now,” Butera said. “I talked about it after last night’s game, obviously reevaluating what we’re doing. And today, you saw we had a little different approach there at the end. Wanted to give our best relievers a shot to help us win the game. And it didn’t go our way.”

James Wood had three hits including a homer for Washington, and Curtis Mead had a homer and a single.

New York was shut out for seven innings by a trio of Washington pitchers before striking in the eighth.

“Just some really good winning at-bats when we needed it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “(We) were held down. One of those days a little similar to (Friday) night, where we got some opportunities and can’t cash in, but a lot of big at-bats late.”

–Field Level Media