Sonnen criticises Holloway for calling for trilogy fight with McGregor

Chael Sonnen has criticised Max Holloway for calling for a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor after handing the Irishman an injury TKO defeat at UFC 329.

McGregor (22-7) suffered an apparent knee injury seconds into the first round of a loss to Max in a comeback fight in Las Vegas.

Even with one fight remaining on his UFC contract, Conor’s future with the elite MMA promotion is unclear.

Despite McGregor’s unclear future with UFC, Max Holloway, after the fight said he is willing to wait until 2027 for the Conor McGregor rematch.

"I want to see what his injury is. I'm down to come back 2027. I know I came out unscathed but I owe my family some time,” Max said.

“You guys are gonna see Blessed return in 2027."

Sonnen suggested that Holloway should have moved toward a fresh fight instead of calling for injured McGregor again.

“When a guy is hurt, you show him grace. The end,” Sonnen said.

“All you can say is I hope he gets well. I’m sorry the contest ended that way. It’s one of those moments. It’s a downer. I get it. But it’s the only thing that can be done.

“So for Max to go and call for a trilogy fight, are you kidding me? You want to fight the hurt guy? You want to fight the injured guy?”

“You want to fight the guy that just gave you an effort and it was 40 seconds and you got the biggest check of your year, of your career?”

UFC is apparently open to letting McGregor make another return with considerable interest in his Saturday fight. CEO Dana White said he's already thinking about McGregor's next fight and had "five ideas" for his opponent if he had beaten Holloway.

McGregor recovered from a torn ACL in 2013, which he injured in his first bout with Holloway, and broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021.