Almost exactly five years since his last fight, Conor McGregor will finally return to the Octagon. The Irish superstar takes on Max Holloway on July 11 during UFC 329 in Las Vegas. It is the headliner of the annual International Fight Week event.
The UFC announced the match-up during the UFC Vegas 117 broadcast a couple of moments ago. The rematch between McGregor and Holloway was rumored for some time. The promotion finally made the matchup official between the two former champions. The fight takes place in the welterweight division.
The Comeback Of The Irish Superstar
McGregor finally has a return date in the UFC. The former two-division champion returns after five years without fighting. The Irishman lost his last fight in the Octagon in July 2021. In the third fight against Dustin Poirier, he broke his ankle at the end of the first round. After a long revalidation process, McGregor was supposed to return during International Fight Week two years ago against Michael Chandler. McGregor broke his toe leading up to the match-up and had to cancel the fight.
For a very long time, the rumors kept going on of McGregor fighting in the UFC or maybe even not returning to the Octagon. McGregor, who also had to sit out an 18-month suspension after missing several tests for the Combat Sports Anti-Doping, was eligible again to fight on March 20th this year. McGregor was hoping for a spot on the White House card. UFC president Dana White decided to put other fighters on that event. McGregor was disappointed in the decision but said he would return on another card.
McGregor now takes on Max Holloway. The Hawaiian fan favorite and the Irish fighter fought each other before. Early in their respective careers in the UFC in the Summer of 2013, McGregor beat Holloway via unanimous decision after three rounds. This was even before both guys would touch UFC gold. It was McGregor’s second fight in the UFC and Holloway’s sixth fight in the Octagon. During their reign as champions of the featherweight division, their paths never crossed. Holloway reached the top of the division when McGregor had already left for lightweight.
Max Holloway Wants To Get His Revenge
For Holloway, the fight against McGregor is also a very important one. The former champion was almost untouchable at featherweight until Alexander Volkanovski showed up. After losing three times to the Australian, Holloway kept winning against the top contenders and went to lightweight to fight for the BMF title against Justin Gaethje. Holloway won the title with one of the most iconic knockouts in UFC history in the dying seconds of the fight.
Because Volkanovski lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, Holloway went back to featherweight to challenge the new champion. Topuria became the first fighter to finish Holloway by knockout. After that fight, Holloway went back up to lightweight and defended his BMF title against Dustin Poirier. In his most recent fight earlier this year, he lost the title against Charles Oliveria. Holloway needs to win against McGregor to stay in the mix for a future title fight.
UFC 329
Main Card
- Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
- Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista
- Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
- Gable Steveson vs. Elisha Ellison
Preliminary Card
- Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov
- Kai Kamaka III vs. Luke Riley
- Tracy Cortez vs. Wang Cong
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yañez
- Cody Durden vs. Ode’ Osbourne
- Damian Pinas vs. César Almeida
- Zachary Reese vs. Ryan Gandra
Conor McGregor Returns Against Max Holloway at UFC 329