Conor McGregor is scheduled to return against Max Holloway in the UFC 329 main event on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, closing out International Fight Week 2026 with a rematch 13 years after their first meeting.
The booking was announced during the UFC Vegas 117 broadcast. McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, and his planned 2024 comeback against Michael Chandler fell apart after McGregor suffered a broken toe. Holloway now gets the spot instead, turning a long-rumored matchup into the biggest fight on the summer schedule.
Holloway reacted to the announcement below:
July 11 Return of the MAX. pic.twitter.com/EKk798IMZh
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) May 17, 2026
McGregor and Holloway first fought at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston on Aug. 17, 2013. McGregor won by unanimous decision, but Holloway was still a 21-year-old rising featherweight. Since then, Holloway became UFC featherweight champion, beat Jose Aldo twice, built one of the most productive striking careers in UFC history, and later knocked out Justin Gaethje with one second left at UFC 300.
The first result still belongs to McGregor. The recent body of work belongs to Holloway.
McGregor Returns After Five Years Away
McGregor’s inactivity is the biggest fight-week issue. He has one MMA win since 2016, a 2020 stoppage of Donald Cerrone. His last two UFC appearances both came against Poirier in 2021, and both ended badly for him, first by second-round TKO and then by doctor stoppage after the leg injury.
That does not erase what McGregor has done. He became the first fighter to hold two UFC titles at the same time when he stopped Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, and his run included major wins over Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz, and Alvarez. His name still changes the size of any UFC card immediately.
It does make the Holloway matchup risky. Holloway has stayed active against elite opponents and still brings pace, durability, and volume that can drown fighters if they cannot slow him down. His UFC records for significant strikes landed and total strikes landed show exactly what kind of problem he creates when a fight stretches past the early rounds.
Holloway’s recent run has been far busier than McGregor’s. He beat Arnold Allen, Chan Sung Jung, and Gaethje before losing a decision to Charles Oliveira in a BMF title fight at UFC 326. That Oliveira loss gives Holloway something to correct, but it does not change the fact that he has been fighting top names while McGregor has been trying to get back to the starting line.
Belal Muhammad was among the fighters reacting to the announcement:
Max bout to do him worse than Jake gylenhall
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) May 17, 2026
The UFC also has a loaded card around the main event. The announced main card includes Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett, Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista, Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanaugh, and Gable Steveson vs. Elisha Ellison. The prelims include Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov, Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez, Tracy Cortez vs. Wang Cong, and more.
That lineup gives International Fight Week depth beyond the McGregor return. Still, the card will be judged by the main event because McGregor’s first fight in five years is not a normal booking. He is returning from a major injury, facing a former champion who has already shared the cage with him, and doing it in the same arena where UFC has built many of its biggest summer shows.
The rematch gives McGregor a chance to prove he can still beat an elite lightweight-level opponent. It gives Holloway a chance to erase an old loss that came before his championship prime. Thirteen years later, the names are the same, but the stakes are completely different.
McGregor already owns the first win. At UFC 329, Holloway gets the version of the fight he has been waiting on since before either man became a UFC champion.
