Conor McGregor is beaming with satisfaction over the terms of his comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329.
“I’m ready to come back,” McGregor said in a recent interview with Rob O’Neill, according to Championship Rounds. “I’ve got a great opponent. I’ve got a great deal off the UFC. I’m very, very happy. They honored me, finally.”
The former two-division champion will end a five-year layoff when he faces Holloway for a second time in the July 11 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since July 2021, when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He was initially scheduled to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024, but he withdrew due to an injury. The 37-year-old Irishman has fought just three times since 2018.
McGregor faced Holloway in his second UFC bout in 2013, earning a unanimous decision win, and he said he’s looking forward to running it back with the former featherweight champion.
“(Holloway) is a quality opponent,” McGregor said. “Our last bout was martial arts mastery by yours truly, so I plan on doing it again. I plan on showing my growth and my improvements in there. I’m very, very excited for it. Preparation has gone very well. We’re living, breathing, and sleeping in the gym. Literally. I live in the gym.”
McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, recently said that “The Notorious” wants to stay busy after the Holloway fight.
“We had planned for a season during the COVID period, and that never got going, unfortunately. But this is the new season,” Attar told MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun. “He’s definitely looking to stay active. We’re definitely looking forward to not only this fight with Max Holloway on July 11. And then that next fight, we’re not gonna wait a year, that’s for sure. And then we’ll see. We’ll see kind of what happens from there. I don’t think we’re looking too far ahead of things. We’re just taking it one step at a time.”
