McGregor returns – Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback is officially set after nearly five years out, with Dana White confirming a welterweight fight against Max Holloway in Las Vegas on July 11 at UFC 329.
Conor McGregor’s long wait for a return has finally ended. After nearly five years away from the Octagon, the UFC has a date and an opponent locked in, with Dana White confirming McGregor will face Max Holloway in Las Vegas on July 11.
The bout will be contested at welterweight, and it will arrive as a rematch of their 2013 fight—when McGregor beat Holloway in Boston with a torn ACL. This time, it’s set as a nontitle contest at UFC 329, coming in a little under two months.
McGregor’s last UFC appearance came on July 10, 2021, when he suffered a broken leg and lost to Dustin Poirier. He enters this return with a career record of 22-6 and remains the richest UFC fighter in history despite the lengthy absence.
His wealth has been estimated as more than $200 million across a career that delivered championships in two different weight classes.. McGregor’s path back to combat sports also includes major detours: a 2013 title win that helped cement his rise. a boxing crossover against Floyd Mayweather Jr.. that ended in a stoppage defeat, and a 2018 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The UFC comeback attempt in 2024 ran into a familiar kind of frustration. McGregor was set to fight Michael Chandler but was forced to withdraw with a toe injury.
Before the latest pause, McGregor’s 2016 run stands out as a peak moment. He became the first man to hold UFC titles in two divisions at the same time, adding the Lightweight crown to his Featherweight championship with a win over Eddie Alvarez.
When he returned to mixed martial arts after earlier time away. he defeated Donald Cerrone in his comeback fight. only to suffer two straight losses to Poirier in the first seven months of 2021.. The second defeat came in dramatic and grim fashion: he broke his leg during the first round. ending the trilogy prematurely.
His time away has also brought legal and disciplinary complications that continue to shadow his comeback.. In September. McGregor asked Ireland’s Supreme Court to hear an appeal tied to a civil case in which a jury found in favor of Dublin woman Nikita Hand—also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin—over allegations of rape.
The civil case centered on an incident alleged to have occurred in December 2018 in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel. The jury ruled McGregor civilly liable for assault, after he told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand.
In January 2025, another lawsuit accused McGregor of sexually assaulting a woman after a Miami Heat NBA Finals game in 2023. McGregor denied the claims in that matter.
On top of the civil disputes. McGregor accepted an 18-month ban for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy in October last year.. The suspension began on September 20, 2024, and concluded on March 20, 2026.. Alongside that punishment. he missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024. according to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD).
The sequence of McGregor’s comeback is now difficult to ignore: his last UFC fight ended in a leg injury in July 2021. his next attempt to return in 2024 was derailed by a toe injury against Michael Chandler. and now he is stepping back in with an opponent he has already beaten before. with the UFC scheduled for July 11 in Las Vegas.
For Holloway, it sets another chapter against McGregor—this time as a welterweight nontitle rematch at UFC 329—while McGregor aims to make the five-year gap feel like a detour rather than a permanent break.
Conor McGregor Max Holloway UFC 329 Dana White Las Vegas welterweight fight July 11 rematch