The return of Conor McGregor is just days away. “The Notorious” headlines Saturday’s UFC 329 fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a rematch with former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
The two first fought 13 years ago at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston in a featherweight bout on the preliminary card. McGregor defeated “Blessed” via unanimous decision. It was the Irishman’s second octagon appearance.
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“Confidence. Absolute confidence and excitement to do my job. Happy to be back,” McGregor told ESPN MMA when asked what’s going through his mind days ahead of octagon return.
McGregor has been out of action for five years. He last fought in July 2021 at UFC 264 losing to Dustin Poirier after suffering a gruesome leg injury at the end of the opening round. He had to ‘dig deep’ to commit to a comeback.
“You’ve got to dig deep and you got to prove to yourself you are what you say you are. And so that’s what it sort of was for me. I was using it as motivation. It takes a lot of, you know, deep internal work to return from an injury like that and circumstances surrounding it and I just used that as motivation. Lovely. I wish for it to be that way because now I can show and on Saturday night I’m going to show,” he said.
McGregor is a living icon. He’s got nothing left to prove inside the cage except maybe that he’s still got it. The Irishman wants to show the level of his skill set and believes Holloway is the perfect opponent to achieve that.
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“Holloway’s a great opponent to find me at my feet in here. I know he’s planning on deep waters. It’s almost a bit disrespectful. I’m not sure who he thinks he’s talking about here,” McGregor said.
“Prove my level. I have many things that I’ve taken in this camp that have been fuel to my fire,” he said. “I love Max as an opponent. He’s fought so many people. And he’s had a very impressive body or work inside the octagon. He’s for sure a future Hall of Famer. Now I get to go in and showcase my level against (him) and I’m excited for it. It’s perfect for me.”
