Audie Attar says Conor McGregor is not planning another long layoff after UFC 329. The former two-division UFC champion faces Max Holloway on July 11 in Las Vegas, and his manager says another fight should follow without a year-long wait after the Holloway rematch.
McGregor has not fought since the July 2021 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, where he suffered the leg break that ended the fight at UFC 264. The long-planned Michael Chandler return later fell apart because of a broken toe.
Attar told MMA Junkie that McGregor wants the Holloway fight to be the first step in a busier UFC run.
Source interview below:
Conor McGregor’s manager Audie Attar says returning at #UFCWhiteHouse “didn’t make sense” for the UFC 👀 pic.twitter.com/3VPmue9G1E
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 24, 2026
“I could tell you he’s looking to stay active,” Attar said. “I could tell you that we had planned for a ‘season’ during the COVID period, and that never got going, unfortunately. So this is the new season, and he’s definitely looking to stay active. We’re definitely looking forward to to not only this fight, Max Holloway, July 11, and then that next fight, and we’re not gonna wait a year, that’s for sure.”
Audie Attar Says Michael Chandler Was The First Push
Attar also said Chandler was the first target for the comeback. That matchup had been built through The Ultimate Fighter 31 before the cancellation.
“Conor really wanted to give that to Michael Chandler,” Attar said. “He just felt Michael deserved it, having gone through the show and experienced that camp, the unfortunate injury, and the cancellation of the bout. Conor really, really wanted that to happen, and we did everything to try to push it. At the time, it just didn’t make sense for the UFC, but it doesn’t mean that it might not happen in the future. Michael has a great fight ahead of him at the White House, and we wish him the best. We want him to succeed. It can become a reality.”
McGregor enters this comeback at 22-6 in MMA and 10-4 in the UFC. He is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, and he became the first fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two weight classes at the same time. Holloway is 27-9 in MMA and 23-9 in the UFC, a former UFC featherweight champion, and a former BMF titleholder, which is why Holloway’s own UFC 329 comments about McGregor carry more weight than standard fight-week noise.
Their first fight happened in 2013 at featherweight, with McGregor winning by unanimous decision. This rematch comes at welterweight, and Attar said that history helped make Holloway the right opponent once Chandler did not land.
“Like I said, we pushed for Chandler,” Attar said. “That was our main focus initially. Different names surfaced in the conversations, and in the negotiations, and I think from a Max Holloway perspective, we know we got one on Max, and he wants to get that back. We know they faced each other when they were 145ers, and we know that Max is game and he’s going to put on a great performance. We just felt it was the right matchup. One of the things, obviously with being out with the time Conor has been out for, it just made sense to do it at 170, right? Max was game right away and willing to step up and take the matchup at 170.”
Holloway is a real test. He has stayed active while McGregor has been out, and Attar admitted the comeback opponent brings real risk. McGregor fought twice in 2021 against Poirier, once in 2020 against Donald Cerrone, and before that his previous MMA bout was the 2018 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I think it’s a tough match-up,” Attar said. “I think when you’re out as long as Conor’s been out for, you’re taking on a formidable opponent, same age, same experience, but one guy has been very active. But I’m also confident in the preparation Conor’s putting in. I’m confident in where his head and his heart is, and I’m confident that come fight night, the fans are gonna be very happy with that fight.”
If McGregor turns around quickly after July 11, it changes the tone around his comeback. One fight is a spectacle. Another fight soon after Holloway would look more like a real schedule.
The first job is still simple and dangerous. McGregor has to make it to July 11 healthy, deal with Holloway, and back up his return form talk.
