Conor McGregor will make his comeback at UFC 329 in a rematch against Max Holloway, a welterweight bout on July 11 (July 12 AEST) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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The former two-division champion is arguably the biggest name in the history of MMA and has not fought since 2021, when he lost a trilogy fight to Dustin Poirier by TKO after suffering a badly broken leg in Round 1.
McGregor’s return comes as the main event of the UFC’s International Fight Week card, against a fellow legend in Holloway.
He won his first fight against Holloway in 2013, via unanimous decision despite a torn ACL. It was just the second fight of the Irishman’s UFC foray as he launched a stunning run to the featherweight title, sealed by an iconic seven-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in 2015.
McGregor (22-6-0) became a two-belt champion when he beat Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 a year later.
‘The Notorious’ immediately launched into baiting Holloway on social media after the fight was announced.
“I’m gonna son you, child. Again,” he posted as a reply to a Holloway announcing the fight on X.
“You’re gonna put respect on my motherf***ing name,” he wrote on another post, featuring a picture of him manhandling Holloway.
There have been some false starts for a touted McGregor comeback, with the 36-year-old announced in 2024 to fight Michael Chandler during International Fight Week. That date didn’t happen, due to a broken toe for McGregor, nor did a touted postponed fight.
McGregor has an estimated wealth of $200 million and UFC president Dana White often predicted during his rise that he would become to rich to continue fighting.
His career featured bouts against iconic opponents, including a boxing loss to Floyd Mayweather and a UFC defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov, before he went into a long hibernation.
He has been back in the UFC’s testing pool and fans will be desperate to see him clash with Holloway come to fruition.
Welterweight (170lbs) is the heaviest weight division in which McGregor has fought in the UFC.
Whether McGregor can overcome his long absence to defeat Holloway will be fascinating. Holloway has had eight fights since McGregor last fought, against elite opposition: Yair Rodriguez (win, UD), Alexander Volkanovski (loss, UD), Arnold Allen (win, UD), Chan Sung Jung (win, KO), Justin Gaethje (win, KO), Ilia Topuria (loss, KO), Poirier (win, UD), Charles Oliveira (loss, UD).
McGregor has lost three of his past four fights: Nurmagomedov (loss, sub), Donald Cerrone (win, KO), then two losses to Poirier.
One fight that has been long awaited is McGregor v Nate Diaz III, with the pair one win apiece so far. Diaz made a comeback against Mike Perry on Sunday on an MVP MMA card, losing by TKO (corner stoppage) after two rounds.