McGregor and Holloway trade sharp words in first face-off ahead of UFC 329 return

Conor McGregor and Max Holloway squared off verbally for the first time ahead of their UFC 329 rematch, scheduled for July 11, with McGregor insisting he will emerge from the fight untouched and Holloway responding with a calm confidence that mirrored the Irishman’s own trademark bravado.

McGregor, returning after a five-year absence that included recovery from a gruesome broken leg, wasted little time revisiting their first encounter — a 2013 bout in Boston that he won when Holloway was making only his sixth UFC appearance. He took particular issue with the narrative that Holloway’s youth at the time diminished the significance of that loss.

“People claim this man to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound featherweight of all time when I son’d him at that weight,” McGregor said. “Max had his sixth UFC fight. He was my second. In Boston, I calmly put these big Irish balls on your face and I’m going to do it again.”

Holloway, who went on to become featherweight champion after that defeat and is widely regarded as one of the greatest in the division’s history, refused to be rattled. He even co-opted McGregor’s famous “Mystic Mac” persona — the nickname earned for McGregor’s habit of predicting his own victories — and rebranded it for himself.

“Welcome to the Mystic Max era,” Holloway said. “Return of the Max, July 11. A bunch of gloves is going to get laid on that pretty face. Keep it clean for me.”

McGregor was unmoved. “Max, you’re not going to lay a glove on me and even if you do lay a glove on me, I’m going to laugh in your face,” he said. “I’m going to box you up with my hands down. I’m going to come out of this fight unscathed and I’m going to go again.”

Holloway also looked beyond July 11, promising an immediate rematch if he wins — a result that would level their head-to-head record at one apiece and set up a potential decider before the end of 2026.

“July 11, I’m going to handle business and we’re going to have a rematch at the end of the year,” Holloway said. “I’m going to be 1-0 against him and then we’re going to rematch at the end of the year. That’s what’s going to happen.”

The bout marks McGregor’s first UFC appearance since he suffered a fractured tibia against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.