Conor McGregor UFC return vs Max Holloway: Irish star set for comeback after 5 years in Las Vegas octagon

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Conor McGregor, the former two-division champion, last stepped into the cage in 2021, where he suffered a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier and broke his leg, needing surgery.

Conor McGregor is set to officially return to the UFC octagon, leading to MMA fans buzzing with excitement. The Irish superstar will take on Max Holloway on July 11 in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White confirmed. This will mark McGregor’s first fight in five long years, and it promises to be one of the biggest events in combat sports history.

Rewind to their 2013 showdown

Conor McGregor holds a 22-6 record and beat Max Holloway by unanimous decision way back in 2013. That early win helped launch “The Notorious” into global stardom with his sharp striking and fearless approach. Holloway, aged 34 with a 26-9 record, is still regarded as one of the featherweight division’s all-time greats. He heads into this rematch fresh off a unanimous decision defeat to Charles Oliveira in March, but his relentless pace and boxing skills keep him a serious threat.

Conor McGregor’s long road back from injury

Conor McGregor, the former two-division champion, last stepped into the cage in 2021, where he suffered a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier and broke his leg, needing surgery. Hopes for a quicker return rose when he was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in July 2024, only for a toe injury to pull him out weeks before the bout. Now 37, McGregor has spent years training and recovering, determined to silence doubters and reclaim his spot at the top.

Why Conor McGregor remains the UFC’s ultimate draw

Conor McGregor changed the sport forever as the first fighter to hold UFC featherweight and lightweight titles at the same time. His resume features knockout wins over José Aldo, Nate Diaz, and Donald Cerrone. Still, he has dropped three of his last four fights, including losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and back-to-back defeats against Poirier.

Notably, the top four pay-per-view records in UFC history all belong to McGregor fights, with 2.4 million buys for the Nurmagomedov clash and 1.8 million for his last Poirier meeting. Even his 2017 boxing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr shattered records, pulling in 4.3 million PPV buys and more than $600 million in revenue.

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About the Author

Aachal Maniyar

Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.

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