UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall sees Conor McGregor returning to the octagon in vintage form.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) runs things back with Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in Saturday at UFC 329 in the welterweight main event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+). McGregor used his grappling to defeat Holloway in their first bout in 2013 after blowing out his knee. Aspinall wonders if that’s a strategy McGregor will lean on again, especially with the way Holloway was heavily outgrappled by Charles Oliveira at UFC 326.
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“I’ve watched a couple of his interviews recently; he seems in a really good place,” Aspinall said of McGregor on his YouTube channel. “When McGregor is in form, he’s absolutely unreal. He’s beat Max Holloway before. Max Holloway, in my opinion, (is a) really, really good fighter, one of the best ever. Didn’t look great in his last fight.
“Did not look great against Charles Oliveira at all. He looked like he was kind of questioning whether he wanted to be there or not at points, but he was fighting a grappler. So, when it’s all striking, which it probably will be with McGregor, his striking IQ is so good. Doesn’t get hit much, but in the first fight, McGregor grappled him. He might grapple him again.”
Although McGregor is coming back after five years away, Aspinall is confident that he will live up to his prediction.
“I was very impressed with what he was talking about and how calm he seemed and how focused he seemed,” Aspinall said. “I know it’s just an interview, it doesn’t really mean anything, but he’s up against it against an active guy like Max Holloway. The thing is that power doesn’t leave. He needs one shot, and it could be over. I’m more favoring towards a McGregor win to be honest. … I think Conor McGregor, Round 1 knockout. I think he’s going to land the big left bomber on him.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Tom Aspinall reveals bold prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
