After a long stretch where many fans felt the Ultimate Fighting Championship had been losing its luster, the promotion’s greatest draw will be returning to meet a former opponent from over a decade ago
By Gabriel Esparza | May 17, 2026
It is well known that Conor McGregor has been one of the biggest draws in combat sports, particularly during the peak of the MMA operation.
The Irishman’s presence and mic skills make it so that even the most casual of sports fans, too, are forced to at least pay attention to the action that is going on in and outside of the Octagon.
Fittingly, during the walkout of Francis Ngannou, Dana White announced the long-awaited return of McGregor.
He will face Max Holloway at UFC 329. This bout already took place, but it was at Featherweight in 2013. Now, the two are slated for a rematch on July 11 at Welterweight.
This gives McGregor the inherent size advantage. He is someone, however, who has not been an active part of the sport for quite a while and has even sidelined himself from training at various moments since he last faced Dustin Poirier in 2021.
For Holloway, this is a chance to make a big splash and to help wash away part of the sting for him from losing to Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria. Their first encounter all those years ago is, of course, not at all representative of what to expect this summer.
McGregor simply had his way, both on the feet and in the ground game, in the first fight.
It is doubtful now that fans would see too much in terms of a grapple match this time around, though.
Instead, fans can almost certainly expect to see a scrap and to witness a high number of brutal exchanges. This bout going to a decision is only possible if somehow both involved fighters prove to have the toughest chins ever in the history of mixed martial arts. Someone is getting knocked out.
