LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 03: Conor McGregor looks on during The Ultimate Fighter taping at UFC APEX on March 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Conor McGregor is officially back. The biggest star in MMA history will face fellow legend and former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 to cap off International Fight Week. The UFC confirmed the bout on social media. Was the announcement made during the Netflix stream of MVP MMA 1 a coincidence? Of course not.
- Event: UFC 329
- Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026
- Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas (International Game Week)
- Main Event: Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2
- Weight class: Heavyweight (170 lbs)
- Format: Five rounds of 5 minutes
- Co-Main Event: Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett (lightweight)
- Relay: Paramount+ PPV main card
- McGregor’s last fight: UFC 264 (July 10, 2021) — lost by TKO to Dustin Poirier
- Holloway’s last fight: UFC 326 (March 2026) — UD loss to Charles Oliveira
- First Meeting: UFC Fight Night 26 — August 17, 2013, 145 pounds, McGregor UD (30-27 on all cards)
When and where will McGregor vs. Holloway 2 is taking place?
The card will air on Paramount+ as part of the UFC’s new media rights structure, with the main card beginning in its standard 10pm ET window. While UFC Freedom is expected to do big numbers, it’s easy to argue that this show could top the White House show.
The timing puts the race just one day after its five-year anniversary McGregor’s last appearance in the Octagon — the broken leg loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021. That’s a marketing layup the UFC isn’t going to let slip.
What weight class is McGregor Vs. Holloway Rematch?
The fight is booked at welterweight (170 lbs), as confirmed in the official UFC announcement graphic. This is McGregor’s natural weight after years out of competition and is the same weight class he fought against Donald Cerrone and Dustin Poirier in his last outings.
For Hollowaythis is the first welterweight fight of his career after spending most of his UFC run at featherweight and last year at lightweight. There were reports from MMA Mania that McGregor’s team was still pushing for a three-round main event, but the UFC’s final announcement confirms the standard five-round format.
What happened in the first McGregor Vs. Holloway Fight?
The two first met on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26 (Shogun vs. Sonnen) at 145 pounds.
McGregor won a clean unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three scorecards, relying heavily on grappling and control time after suffering a torn ACL early in the fight. He outscored Holloway in significant strikes and recorded multiple takedowns with over six minutes of control time.
Holloway was 21 years old in this fight and still building his profile. He responded to the loss by going on a 13-fight undefeated streak that included capturing the UFC featherweight championship and establishing himself as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. McGregor used the win as a launching pad for his run to the featherweight title and the LDM era that followed.
Who else is on the UFC 329 card?
The co-main event is locked in at lightweight and could steal the show as the Fight of the Night. Benoit Saint Denis will take over Paddy Pimblett.
BSD is riding a four-fight winning streak after finishing Dan Hooker at UFC 325, and Pimblett is giving him the highest-profile name available outside of the title picture. Pimblett is looking to bounce back from a loss to Justin Gaethje in his last fight.
This fight with BSD has obvious implications for eliminating the 155-pound title.
The rest of the card is still being finalized, but the timing of the announcement — which fell during the UFC Vegas 117 broadcast and right as Francis Ngannou was walking to the cage on Netflix’s MMA MMA 1 MVP — sets the stage for the rest of the bouts to fall in a heavy promotional cycle leading into July.
Expect the full card to be revealed in the next two to three weeks.
