McGregor to face Holloway in UFC return on July 11

Conor McGregor returned to action for the first time in five years when he faced Max Holloway in a welterweight bout at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11. The 37-year-old Irishman had not fought since breaking his leg in defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021. Initially scheduled to return against American Michael Chandler in 2024, he pulled out just over two weeks prior to the bout after breaking his toe.

The fight with Holloway served as a rematch of their featherweight bout in 2013, which McGregor won on points. Besides McGregor, Liverpudlian Paddy Pimblett also fought at UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena, taking on Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis in his first bout since losing to Justin Gaethje in January. Other fighters included British flyweight Lone’ner Kavanagh against Brandon Royval and unbeaten Luke Riley who faced Kai Kamaka at featherweight.

Holloway, 34, posed a challenging return opponent for McGregor, as the Hawaiian consistently competed at the highest level at lightweight in recent years. A standout figure in MMA history, McGregor holds a record of 22 wins and six defeats since his debut in 2008. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion became the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion when he won titles at featherweight in 2015 and lightweight in 2016. However, his career has been marred by controversy. In 2024, he accepted an 18-month ban for violating the UFC's anti-doping policy after missing three drug tests within a 12-month period. This ban was backdated to September 2024 and ended in March.

In 2024, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of rape in a Dublin hotel in 2018. After announcing her intention to sue him and two others for damages, Hand claimed they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes. Previously, in 2018, McGregor was arrested in New York for throwing a metal dolly at a bus carrying UFC fighters. A year later, he received a €1,000 (£850) fine for punching a man in a Dublin pub.

McGregor gained fame by winning his first five fights in the UFC, captivating fans with his brash personality. He claimed the interim featherweight title in 2015 against Chad Mendes and knocked out José Aldo for the undisputed belt later that year with the fastest finish in UFC title fight history in just 13 seconds. After becoming a double champion, he faced Floyd Mayweather in a boxing bout in 2017 before losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, which became the biggest-selling UFC pay-per-view event ever. His only win in the last ten years came against Donald Cerrone two years later.