Conor McGregor is back in the UFC, but for how long? See, win or lose against Max Holloway this weekend, the Irishman may have a problem.
It wouldn’t be his first, of course. The five years since McGregor last fought have been marred by a broken leg, broken toe, cancelled fight, failed Irish presidential bid, missed drug tests, a driving ban, sexual assault allegation, and a rape trial.
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It should be said that McGregor denied the sexual-assault allegation against him, which led to no criminal charges, and the plaintiff in a follow-up civil claim submitted a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice; as for the rape trial, that saw a civil jury find McGregor liable, although he similarly denied the allegations and appealed the verdict – to no avail.
Conor McGregor three days out from his UFC comeback (AP)
Ahead of this comeback from all of those episodes, McGregor has leant heavily on his religious beliefs – publicly, at the very least. Yet he has also appeared somewhat agitated.
You could put that down to his desire to get back in the cage, of course. It will be the very same cage, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he broke his leg in a 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. It will be the same cage that hosted UFC 303 in 2024, two weeks after McGregor was ruled out of the event due to a broken toe.
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With that in mind, until McGregor is actually in the cage with Holloway, the Irishman will surely not settle. Nor will those who are desperate to see him fight – because there are still millions of them. For any feelings you may have towards McGregor, and for as understandable as they might be, the blunt reality is that MMA knows nothing like a McGregor fight week; call it residual hype from the mid-2010s, in which he brought the sport into the mainstream as a fighting phenom.
After a scintillating spell of eerily-accurate predictions and captivating knockouts of elite fighters (the “Mystic Mac” era), an unprecedented pair of title wins at two weights, his cathartic revenge against Nate Diaz, and his seismic boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr, McGregor’s in-ring appearances dried up. The alcohol did not, as he admitted to having an on-again-off-again relationship with the bottle and even launched a whiskey business (which would later distance itself from the 37-year-old due to his rape trial).
So, come 2021, it was surreal to see McGregor in the Octagon twice in six months. Both outings against Poirier ended in defeat, with his first-ever knockout loss giving way to that infamous leg break. Now, the time gap between his final clash with Poirier and this weekend’s bout with Holloway has far eclipsed McGregor’s prior record-absence.
McGregor during his 2013 win over Max Holloway, whom he faces again this week (Getty)
Against Holloway, he is fighting an old foe: a boy he outpointed 13 years ago, who has since grown into a man and one of the “Baddest Motherf*****s” in the sport, according to a quasi-title belt that he recently held. Holloway, 34, lost that belt in a one-sided loss to grappling extraordinaire Charles Oliveira in March, so the Hawaiian will likely welcome the kickboxing shootout with McGregor that fans expect.
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But what of the “problem” hinted at earlier? Well, the problem for McGregor lies in what comes after UFC 329.
He has one key advantage in his duel with Holloway, which will take place all the way up at welterweight, where Holloway has never competed before, but it seems McGregor is finally at a disadvantage in his negotiations with the UFC.
McGregor, who turns 38 next week, has made clear his desire to box again, with much-greater paydays available in crossover fights than in the UFC’s Octagon. But the UFC has a habit of holding fighters in their contracts when they have one bout left, arguably in a bid to get them to sign a new, longer deal.
Curiously, though, McGregor told journalist Ariel Helwani in June: “I have both dates for my fights. When would you think they would put me back in? April 2027. It’s almost a year later, that’s ridiculous to me! This is the way the contract was done, you’d have to ask Audie [Attar, manager]. I’m like: ‘Huh? Just give me the f***ing contract.’ It gets to that stage.”
McGregor speaking at the White House in 2025, during his failed bid to become president of Ireland (Getty)
It is unusual for the UFC to plan ahead in this way, and although McGregor claimed the promotion had not offered him a new contract, one can’t help but think his exit won’t be so smooth. In fairness, McGregor did say he would like to continue with the UFC, but of course he would say that.
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It is also worth stressing that there was a phase in which McGregor was bigger than the UFC itself, and both parties knew it. Now? Not so much.
“It wasn’t that difficult, we met in the middle,” McGregor said of negotiations over his next two fights. “We got a good, juicy one. Was it what my worth is? Probably not. Was it what they’d want to offer? Definitely not, definitely not.” To this point, McGregor even made a very un-McGregor admission when asked by Helwani whether the UFC needs him; “I won’t say the game needs me, but it’s sure good to have me,” he said, after mulling over the question.
Once upon a time, the UFC did need McGregor. Once upon a time, he wouldn’t have needed to meet in the middle, one might think. But this is a new time, and time itself may be running out on McGregor.
Whatever happens on Saturday, this final phase of his UFC career could be an extension of the agonising limbo of the last five years.
