Conor McGregor's UFC return is set for July 11 against Max Holloway
Conor McGregor's UFC return is set for July 11 against Max Holloway
Kristie Ackert, USA TODAYSun, May 17, 2026 at 3:16 AM UTC
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Conor McGregor is coming back.
UFC CEO Dana White announced Saturday that McGregor will return to competition for the first time in five years on July 11. He will face Max Holloway in a non-title welterweight bout at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
The comeback arrives against the backdrop of legal trouble that has followed McGregor out of the octagon. An Irish jury found him civilly liable for sexual assault, ordering him to pay the victim $250,000 Euros in damages. He lost his appeal last July, he has filed an application for appeal with Ireland’s Supreme Court.
He also served an 18-month anti-doping suspension, accepted in October, for missing three out-of-competition drug tests in 2024. That ban ran through March 20 of this year.
McGregor (22-6) last fought July 10, 2021, when Dustin Poirier stopped him by TKO after McGregor suffered a broken leg in the final second of the first round.
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The Holloway fight is a rematch. The two met in August 2013 in Boston, McGregor’s second UFC appearance, at featherweight. McGregor won a three-round decision despite tearing his ACL during the bout.
He has not had an easy road back. McGregor was set to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024 but he was forced to withdraw with a toe injury. He is 1-3 in his last four fights. This will be only his second appearance at 170 pounds, the majority of his career was spent between 145 and 155.
The former two-weight champion is now 37 years old and has not won a fight since 2020.
Holloway (27-9) is a former featherweight champion who moved permantenly to lightweight in 2025. He is 1-1 at that weight, most recently dropping a five-round decision to Charles Oliviera in March.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Conor McGregor returns to UFC against Max Holloway
Source: “AOL Sports”
