Conor McGregor set for comeback against Max Holloway at UFC 329

The 37-year-old Irishman Conor McGregor is set to make his long-awaited return to the UFC after a five-year absence when he faces Max Holloway in a welterweight contest at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on 11 July.

McGregor has not competed since suffering a broken leg during his defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021.

McGregor had been scheduled to return against Michael Chandler in 2024, but the bout was cancelled after he broke his toe just weeks before the event.

The upcoming fight will mark a rematch of McGregor and Holloway’s first meeting in 2013, when the former two-weight UFC champion secured a points victory in a featherweight contest.

However, Holloway now represents a far tougher challenge, having remained among the elite fighters in the lightweight division in recent years.

Also confirmed for UFC 329 is Liverpool fighter Paddy Pimblett, who faces France’s Benoit Saint-Denis following his defeat to Justin Gaethje earlier this year.

British flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh is set to meet Brandon Royval, while unbeaten featherweight Luke Riley takes on Kai Kamaka.

McGregor remains one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts history, boasting 22 victories and six defeats since his professional debut in 2008.

He became the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight champion after claiming featherweight and lightweight titles in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Despite his success, McGregor’s career has also been overshadowed by controversy, including disciplinary issues, legal battles and an 18-month anti-doping suspension which ended in March this year.