It will be exactly five years and one day since his last bout when Conor McGregor steps back into the UFC Octagon to face Max Holloway on July 11, and the sport he left behind has changed almost beyond recognition. McGregor last competed on July 10, 2021, breaking his leg in a trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He has not fought since, derailed by injury, a toe that scrapped a 2024 Michael Chandler booking, and an anti-doping suspension he only cleared in March 2026.
The bout, a welterweight main event at UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, is a rematch 13 years in the making. McGregor beat Holloway by decision back in 2013, in just the Hawaiian's fourth UFC fight.
An entire era of the sport has unfolded in his absence. Islam Makhachev rose to dominate the lightweight division McGregor once ruled, and Alex Pereira arrived from kickboxing to become one of MMA's biggest stars. McGregor, now 37, returns 1-3 in his last four fights. Oddsmakers have made him the underdog.
Sources: UFC, Al Jazeera, AOL.
It will be exactly five years and one day since his last bout when Conor McGregor steps back into the UFC Octagon to face Max Holloway on July 11, and the sport he left behind has changed almost beyond recognition. McGregor last competed on July 10, 2021, breaking his leg in a trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He has not fought since, derailed by injury, a toe that scrapped a 2024 Michael Chandler booking, and an anti-doping suspension he only cleared in March 2026.
The bout, a welterweight main event at UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, is a rematch 13 years in the making. McGregor beat Holloway by decision back in 2013, in just the Hawaiian's fourth UFC fight.
An entire era of the sport has unfolded in his absence. Islam Makhachev rose to dominate the lightweight division McGregor once ruled, and Alex Pereira arrived from kickboxing to become one of MMA's biggest stars. McGregor, now 37, returns 1-3 in his last four fights. Oddsmakers have made him the underdog.
Sources: UFC, Al Jazeera, AOL.