McGregor set for UFC return on July 11 as Dana White confirms Holloway showdown in Las Vegas

Conor McGregor's long-awaited comeback to the UFC octagon has been officially confirmed, with UFC President Dana White announcing during Saturday night's card that the former two-weight world champion will face Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout is scheduled to take place at lightweight/welterweight.

The announcement ends a wait of nearly four years for Conor McGregor, who has not competed in MMA since suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Should the fight go ahead as planned, it will fall five years and one day after that injury.

The 37-year-old Irishman first joined the promotion in 2013 and rapidly became the sport's biggest global draw, combining a flamboyant striking style with an unmatched talent for generating attention. He reached the pinnacle of the sport in November 2016 when he stopped Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight title, having already held the featherweight belt, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously.

His crossover appeal extended to boxing, where a 2017 bout against Floyd Mayweather earned him tens of millions of dollars. However, he has won just once in four MMA outings since that lightweight title victory.

McGregor's road back has been far from straightforward. A planned meeting with former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in June 2024 was scrapped after he sustained a broken toe in training. Later that year, a civil jury in Ireland found him liable for the rape of Nikita Hand in 2018. In October 2025, he accepted an 18-month ban for whereabouts failures after missing three doping control visits in 2024, though the sanction was backdated and expired in March 2026.

His opponent Holloway, a Hawaiian, represents a formidable challenge as McGregor bids to recapture former glories on one of the sport's biggest stages.

SportsLigue