Conor McGregor will make his return to UFC competition in a fight against Max Holloway. The Irish mixed martial artist’s comeback has been the rumor that never died, and it’s actualizing after a five-year hiatus.
Conor McGregor set for UFC return after 5 years
Following a five-year absence from active competition, Conor McGregor is all set to make his official return to the UFC. The matchup pits him against Max Holloway in a welterweight contest at UFC 329, scheduled for 11 July in Las Vegas, per BBC.
Holloway makes for a challenging return opponent, as the Hawaiian has maintained elite status at lightweight in recent years. The upcoming bout revisits their 2013 featherweight meeting, a fight McGregor won by unanimous decision.
McGregor’s most recent fight was in 2021, a loss to Dustin Poirier that ended with a broken leg. The Irishman was then set to face Michael Chandler in 2024, but pulled out with a broken toe just over two weeks before the event.
McGregor made his UFC debut in 2008 and quickly gained prominence by winning his first five bouts. He won the interim featherweight title over Chad Mendes in 2015, then unified it five months later by stopping Jose Aldo in 13 seconds for the undisputed belt, a UFC title-fight record. After taking the lightweight title in 2016, he became the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight champion.
In 2017, McGregor crossed into boxing for a lucrative bout with Floyd Mayweather. He returned to MMA in 2018 and lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in UFC’s top-selling pay-per-view of all time. His 2020 win against Donald Cerrone remains his lone victory in the last 10 years. One of MMA’s biggest stars, McGregor has compiled a 22-6 record since his 2008 debut. However, controversy has followed his career in recent years.
Last year, McGregor received an 18-month suspension for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy after missing three drug tests within 12 months in 2024. The suspension, backdated to September 2024, expired in March. Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) has tested him 11 times in 2025, the most of any UFC fighter.
