With Conor McGregor keeping his UFC 329 preparation closely guarded, Megan Olivi got a rare opportunity to see how the former two-division champion is working ahead of his comeback fight.
McGregor (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) will step into the octagon for the first time in exactly five years on July 11 when he faces Max Holloway (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in a five-round welterweight headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+). It’s a rematch of an August 2013 fight that “The Notorious” won by unanimous decision.
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It’s been quite the journey for McGregor to return to competition after he was last seen being stretchered out of the cage following a leg break in his UFC 264 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Speculation around if and when he would come back has been rampant over the years, and he was only once officially scheduled against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in July 2024 before withdrawing due to a toe injury.
With UFC 329 just over one week away, the reality of McGregor fighting again seems stronger than ever, and longtime UFC reporter/host Olivi thinks he will be ready. She went to Dublin in June for a sit down interview with McGregor and to witness some of his training first-hand, and said she saw many positive signs.
“I went to Dublin right before the UFC White House show, and I think we can expect to see an old school Conor McGregor in terms of his confidence, and Mystic Mac and who he presents in the press conference,” Olivi told MMA Junkie. “And I do think he took training really seriously for this one. I am greatly looking forward to this fight between him and Max at 170. To be honest, I don’t really know who the weight class benefits more.
“Max, he does cut a lot weight. Conor – their frames are different, they’re going to carry the weight at 170 different. Stylistically, you love a rematch but they’ve both grown so much since that first meeting. But I think our expectation can be a lot of what drew people into the sport with Conor McGregor in terms of his skills on the microphone. And I think Max is a great dance partner for that part of it.”
When McGregor vs. Holloway 2 was first announced, “Blessed” was a massive betting favorite. As fight night gets closer, however, the betting line is narrowing down, meaning the public is putting its money behind McGregor.
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Olivi thinks that’s because the world is starting to see what she saw: A McGregor who looks healthier comparatively to recent years, and one focused on the task at hand.
“I saw the odds changed a little bit after they showed Conor on the beach in California, that he looked like he was in shape and taking things seriously,” Olivi said. “I can see that. But it’s hard when someone is facing a layoff, let alone a layoff of five years after a horrific injury. I think there’s a lot to take into this one. Max has been a lot more active. Some of it has benefitted him, some of it hasn’t. But if I can say anything about Max Holloway is that he has such good perspective win or lose.”
Fully prepared or not, it’s difficult to make a judgement on how McGregor vs. Holloway will play out at UFC 329. Conventional wisdom would indicate that the injury, the time off and the extremely competent opponent would make this too large a hill for the Irishman to climb, but McGregor has built his legend off shattering expectations, so Olivi can’t rule anything out.
“I hope we get a great fight out of this,” Olivi said. “I know they both want a finish, but I hope we get several rounds out of it. They’re both probably going to be in the Hall of Fame much sooner than later and there’s a lot to look forward to and a lot of vintage performances from Conor in all aspects of the game.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Megan Olivi expects ‘old school Conor McGregor’ at UFC 329 after Dublin camp visit
