Conor McGregor‘s octagon return is just days away. “The Notorious” headlines Saturday’s UFC 329 fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a rematch against former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder Max Holloway. But it isn’t the first time McGregor has been booked for a come back fight.
The 37 year-old former two-division champion hasn’t competed in five years. He last fought in July 2021 at UFC 264 when he lost to Dustin Poirier after suffering a gruesome leg injury. It was his second consecutive loss to “The Diamond.” The Irishman was scheduled to make the walk to the octagon at UFC 303 in June 2024 against Michael Chandler but a toe injury forced him out of the fight.
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“The injury happened. It was very, very difficult. It was my only time to ever pull out of a fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and it was a very, very tough one,” McGregor said on UFC 329 Countdown. “When that injury happened, I put it to myself. Now is the time where what you say to yourself behind closed doors, it’s now time to act on that. You’ve got to put in the work on yourself. And that I have done.”
“‘I’ve been gifted this ability to walk, pursuing my craft. And for too long I disgraced that gift. And no more. So every day I count all of my stars and prayer to God that I’m able to get up and go. Keep going. Keep going. I am ecstatic with the opportunity that lays ahead of me and I look very forward to my return.”
McGregor’s accomplishments inside the octagon made him an icon but he believes the best may lie ahead. According to McGregor, he’s currently in his ‘prime.’
“I feel there’s so much left for me to conquer in this game. So much more accolades, more belts, more knockouts, more records, more cash,” he said. “I’m taking everything of what I have built. I can’t wait. I can’t wait. The fight game and the combat sports world is McGregor’s world and I’m in my prime here now. So, it is on me now to go and show that and that’s what I will do.”
