McGregor (22-6) won the UFC’s featherweight crown in 2015 and claimed lightweight gold the following year, in between splitting a pair of fights with Nate Diaz at welterweight. He’d then go on to take a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, launch Proper 12 Whiskey (he’d later sell his stake in the brand, earning a lucrative payday), and relinquish his titles only to return to the fight game sporadically.

The Irish star hasn’t competed since 2021, in the rubber match of his trilogy with Dustin Poirier, which ended when McGregor snapped his leg in a horrific scene. Since then, he’s endured any number of scandals, including multiple sexual assault allegations, and though he’s never been convicted in criminal court, a civil court did hold him liable in 2024 in a complaint lodged by Nikita Hand. That complaint stemmed from a 2018 encounter at a Dublin hotel that McGregor has steadfastly insisted was consensual.

In a new interview with Paramount, MMA’s biggest star covered both the pitfalls of fame, and admitted that after becoming the sport’s first simultaneous double-champ, he got “lost in it.”

“You know, fame has its pitfalls. You better move carefully in this world, for sure, probably even more so now. I’ve taken a lot of lessons in my life, and it’s just about self-discovery. Studying yourself. Learning yourself. Learning triggers,” McGregor stated, just weeks out from his rematch with Max Holloway at UFC 329 — his first fight in five years. “I find myself even now still in a fight with an old version of me or old ways that don’t serve me and new ways and a new version of me, the new me. So I still find myself in this balance. Right now. As a fighter, more a man. More a man, more as a human.”

If McGregor sounds like a man who’s been through some therapy, that’s perhaps because he has. “I went through some treatment, I’ve done a lot of self-reflective work on myself. Some internal work,” he admitted. “And it was outside of this bubble that we find ourselves in now when I return to the fight game. So on my immediate return to this game and these cameras and even this now, I found myself reverting to an old version of me and I had to kind of remind myself, I said ‘hold on.’ I had to kind of just reflect again and say I’m different now. I’m a different person. I’ve put in work.”

The trappings of fame are still present, however, as McGregor continued by saying that “it’s easy to fall into old habits. You have to be careful. You have to practice with people, places, things; protect people, places, things. Don’t find yourself in similar places that you would have been. I’m still in that fight. Competition for me and activity and work helps that for sure. I still have work to do.”

“The rent is due everyday, they say. You’ve got to put the work in,” he’d later add.

After defeating Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez to hold both featherweight and lightweight gold in the UFC, a feat never before accomplished, McGregor also admitted that he “got lost” in his success.

“At 27 years of age, I had the game conquered. Two-weight world champion, I had the Floyd [Mayweather] bout, boxed off, I was only 27 years of age. I had the game wrapped up in a blink. What more was I to do?” questioned McGregor. “I got lost. I got lost in it. And made some mistakes off of that and that’s it. But you’ll always come home. If you truly love something, you’ll always come home.”

That homecoming arrives in Las Vegas on July 11, 2026, when Conor McGregor faces Max Holloway for the second time. The card comes during something of a renaissance for MMA, following the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on Netflix, and the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

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Joining McGregor vs. Holloway 2 will be King Green (35–17–1, 1NC) taking on Terrance McKinney (18-8), a youth versus veteran pairing that will almost certainly be a crowd pleaser.

Heavy.com’s Marcel Dorff first reported news of  the match-up on Thursday, with McKinney confirming the booking a short time later.

“I can not describe how incredibly grateful I am for this opportunity to fight on the McGregor vs Holloway card,” McKinney wrote on social media. “Jesus is king from staying on someone’s floor to being a house owner now this let’s gooo #AllGloryToGod for the victory to come UFC 329.”

Green has shown he still has legs in the fight game as even at age 39, he’s been putting together wins. He’s picked up three straight victories, most recently submitting Jeremy Stephens. Green isn’t just finding success with fellow vets, however, as his current win streak has seen him defeat Daniel Zellhuber and Lance Gibson Jr.

McKinney, eight years Green’s junior, is 3-1 in his last four bouts and is coming off a finish of Kyle “The Monster” Nelson.

UFC 329 takes place on July 11, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The return of Conor McGregor, in a rematch with Max Holloway, headlines. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
• Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoît Saint Denis
• Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista
• Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
• Gable Steveson vs. Elisha Ellison
• Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yañez
• Tracy Cortez vs. Wang Cong
• Damian Pinas vs. César Almeida
• Luke Riley vs. Kai Kamaka III
• Ryan Gandra vs. Zachary Reese
• Ode’ Osbourne vs.Cody Durden
• King Green vs. Terrance McKinney
• Farid Basharat vs. Ethyn Ewing

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In the midst of UFC Vegas 117, and not coincidentally, Rousey vs. Carano (just as Francis Ngannou was about to make his walk), promotion officials announced the International Fight Week card’s main event, and a whole host of other bouts.

Among them, the previously reported Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez, as well as the heavily rumored Benoit Saint-Denis (17-3, 1NC) versus Paddy Pimblett (23-4) at lightweight. That France vs. England showdown is expected to serve as the night’s co-main event, and is Pimblett’s first fight back from an interim title fight loss to Justin Gaethje earlier this year.

In the featured preliminary card spot, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9) will make his long-anticipated move to light heavyweight when he takes on Nikita Krylov (31-11). Whittaker has won a fight since 2024 and suffered defeats in his last two, against Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder.

Olympic gold medalist heavyweight Gable Steveson, previously announced for UFC 329, finally has an opponent for the event. That was among Saturday’s revelations; he’ll take on Elisha Ellison, who is 0-1 in the UFC to date after losing to Brando Pericic.

Brandon Royval is set to face Lone’er Kavanagh, while Mario Bautista lands Cory Sandhagen in a previously reported rematch.

UFC 329 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2026. The card as reported to date breaks down as follows:

• Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
• Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoît Saint Denis
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yañez
• Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov
• Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
• Tracy Cortez vs. Wang Cong
• Damian Pinas vs. César Almeida
• Luke Riley vs. Kai Kamaka III
• Ode’ Osbourne vs. Cody Durden
• Gable Steveson vs. Elisha Ellison
• Leon Edwards vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista
• Zachary Reese vs. Ryan Gandra

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The long-rumored return of the UFC’s biggest star will come on July 11, capping off this year’s International Fight Week. After a false start a couple of years ago against Michael Chandler, that saw McGregor (22-6) withdraw due to a broken toe, he’ll instead face off against Max Holloway (27-9) in a rematch.

The fight will headline UFC 329 and mark McGregor’s first action since breaking his leg in the trilogy fight of his series with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

After talk of McGregor vs. Holloway 2 swirled in recent weeks, promotion officials announced the match-up during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 117 broadcast. Coincidentally during Netflix’s Rousey vs. Carano card.

McGregor will have to shake off five years worth of ring rust upon his return. He has not won a fight since his finish of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 2020, which headlined UFC 246. That was followed by back-to-back losses against Poirier.

At his peak, McGregor was the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous double-champ, holding both featherweight and lightweight gold, titles he won from Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez, respectively. He was stripped out both for inactivity without defending either.

Holloway has been one of the UFC’s busier, and most bankable, stars in the ensuing years. Though he’d lose the pair’s first meeting early in their respective careers, Hawaii’s “Blessed” would become a featherweight champion and later claim the “BMF” title as well. His last-second finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 remains one of the most electric moments in UFC history.

UFC 329 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2026.

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Cody Garbrandt (15-7) will meet Adrian Yanez (17-6-1) at the event, which takes place on July 11, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

Yanez confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Garbrandt got himself back in the win column earlier this year, claiming a decision victory over China’s Xiao Long at UFC 326. That improved him to 3-2 since his return to bantamweight after a one-fight stint at 125lbs in 2021 (Garbrandt missed all of 2022).

The Long fight was a long one, pun fully intended, for Cody “No Love,” who no doubt didn’t love the multiple groin strikes that saw his opponent hit with two point deductions in the third round.

Yanez sits at 1-3-1 in his last five fights and will enter the bout off a draw against Ricky Simon at UFC Seattle in March. Many saw the bout as a robbery, and 14 of 15 media outlets scoring the fight had it for Yanez, per MMA Decisions.

No main event has been announced for UFC 329 on July 11, though all signs are pointing towards the return of Conor McGregor, possibly in a rematch with Max Holloway.

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The card headlines International Fight Week this July, and McGregor’s return has been heavily rumored to headline the event. Following UFC Winnipeg last month, Dana White told Cageside Press that “it’s looking good” in terms of McGregor’s return, though he didn’t have anything specific to announce.

Rumors have swirled for weeks, however, the McGregor and Holloway might meet for the second time. The pair faced off early in their respective UFC runs, with McGregor earning a decision win in their 2013 encounter.

Speaking to Paramount+ (h/t MMA Fighting), Holloway admitted that the fight is one he’d like back, though he didn’t confirm the rematch was happening. He didn’t deny it, on the other hand, saying “maybe” when asked if he’d appear on the IFW card.

As for the McGregor match-up, Holloway believes it makes sense.

The post Max Holloway on McGregor Match-Up Rumors: “I’d Love to Get Him Back” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bantamweight contender Sandhagen (18-6) is set for a rematch with Mario Bautista (17-3), booked for UFC 329 on July 11, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

News of the booking was first reported by Magic MMA Bets. Bautista later confirmed the match-up on social media.

Sandhagen remains ranked fourth in the UFC’s 135lb weight class, while Bautista ranks eighth. The pair first met at a Fight Night event in January 2019, with Sandhagen pulling off a submission win in the opening round.

A handful of fights later, Bautista would go on an eight fight win streak, tearing through bantamweight division standouts including Jose Aldo, Ricky Simon, and former Bellator champ Patchy Mix. While he came up short against Umar Nurmagomedov, Bautista bounced back earlier this year with a victory over Vinicius Oliveira.

Cory Sandhagen was last in action in October at UFC 320, challenging then-champ Merab Dvalishvili for gold and losing a unanimous decision.

UFC 329 caps off this year’s International Fight Week. No main event has been announced for the card, though newly signed heavyweight Gable Steveson has already been confirmed for the event, against an opponent to be named later.

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Ending months of speculation, former Olympic champion Gable Steveson has signed on with the world’s leading MMA promotion. News of Steveson joining the UFC was announced during Saturday’s UFC 327 broadcast, which had a Fight of the Year candidate at heavyweight in Josh Hokit vs. Curtis Blaydes.

Steveson is expected to make his debut at UFC 329 in July, which caps off this year’s International Fight Week. He just misses the cut for Freedom 250 at the White House, which the teammate of Jon Jones had previously expressed interest in.

Jones was pictured sitting next to Gable on the UFC 327 broadcast on Saturday.

Heavyweight's must-see prospect is finally SIGNED! 🚨

Gable Steveson joins the UFC and is expected to debut this July in International Fight Week! pic.twitter.com/6BTQXaUoQu

— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) April 12, 2026

Gable Steveson won gold at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and previously had a brief run with professional wrestling’s WWE. He made the jump to MMA in 2025, and has gone 3-0 through his brief professional career, while also honing his striking chops with a fight in Dirty Boxing.

All three of Steveson’s MMA appearances have ended inside the distance, all by KO/TKO. He was awarded Performance of the Night in his professional debut at LFA 217 last year.

No opponent has been announced for Steveson’s debut at UFC 329, which is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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