Conor McGregor re-enters the octagon for the first time in five years to rematch Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 and he is ecstatic about his new deal with the organization.
“The Notorious” said back in January, “my contract, essentially, is void right now” after the promotion walked away from the pay-per-view system to partner with streaming service Paramount+, insisting he was “due a new contract” since he was “the highest-generating PPV fighter of all time.”
Four months later and finally booked for a fight, McGregor said in an interview with former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill that he was “honored” by the UFC.
“The big fight is coming,” McGregor said. “Let’s cheers to that. ‘The Mac’ is back, baby. Let’s go. … I’m out so long, five years. My body’s fresh, my mind is sharp. I’m ready to come back. I’ve got a great opponent. I’ve got a great deal off the UFC. I’m very, very happy. They honored me, finally.”
McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and is winless since January 2020, when he stopped Donald Cerrone. McGregor, who turns 38 days after UFC 329 on July 11, said “I live in the gym” ahead of his return bout.
“July 11, Sin City, Las Vegas,” McGregor said. “And the opponent is a man that I’ve beaten before in Max Holloway. He is an established fighter, an accomplished fighter, former UFC world champion, multiple-time, former UFC BMF world champion. This is a quality opponent. And our last bout was martial arts mastery by yours truly, so I plan on doing it again. I plan on showing my growth and my improvements in there. I’m very, very excited for it. Preparation has gone very well. We’re living, breathing, and sleeping in the gym.”
The former two-division champion has a history with Holloway, defeating him back in 2013. That was the first time McGregor went the distance in MMA. “Blessed” has been more active than McGregor in recent years, entering the cage for eight bout and five wins, including a pair of “BMF” title victories over Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
McGregor assures he’s sharp enough to make up for lost time, though.
“So if the ankle goes, if the knee goes, if the shoulder goes, what’s my response? Because the fight’s not over,” McGregor said. “If you give it over, if you have a maneuver, you know, you can outlast and you can survive in there and then get towards the victory. So I have found as I have gotten more experience in the fight game to work my way backwards from the worst case scenario to the best case scenario. And then focus, focus, focus. Prepare, prepare, prepare. For the best case scenario. And that’s kind of where I’m at right now. I have every situation that may occur and my answers to it.”
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