McGregor names Holloway as only acceptable final UFC fight after knee surgery

Conor McGregor has named Max Holloway as the only fight he wants for his UFC return, insisting the pair must run back their ill-fated July rematch that ended when McGregor ruptured his knee on the very first kick of the bout.

Speaking at the BKFC Glasgow post-fight press conference, McGregor was unambiguous about his intentions. “It has to be Holloway,” he said. “Just do the fcking thing again. The guy didn’t engage once. He’s the one that called for the stoppage in the fight. He said ‘ref, ref!’ He’s the one stopping the fight. On the one leg, he wasn’t coming near me. So shocking and so heartbreaking to me and I’m still fcking dealing with it. It has to be Holloway. Just f*cking dust it off, re-do it.”

McGregor is currently three months removed from surgery and has previously set International Fight Week 2027 — roughly one year on from the injury — as his target return window. However, he now suggests a pre-summer comeback is possible if his knee heals on schedule, pointing to a prior experience with the same injury that saw him return within nine months.

“What’s it now November? Three months I’m off of surgery,” McGregor said. “I done this injury before and returned within nine months. So nine months is pre-summer. I just want to go again and again.”

McGregor has also confirmed the fight would serve as the final bout on his existing UFC contract, after which he would reach free agency. Holloway, for his part, has previously indicated he is open to a third meeting, with timing the main variable.

Should Holloway be unavailable, McGregor made clear he will not accept a step down in opposition. He issued a blunt warning to fighters without world-level credentials: “If you’re not a world champion fighter, if you’ve not got world accolades to your name, don’t utter my fcking name. If you’re a national champion, if you’re a fcking regional champion, if you’ve done fck all but got a few likes, go fck yourself. I said a world caliber fighter.”

The original McGregor–Holloway bout took place at UFC 303 in July, with McGregor’s injury forcing an early stoppage before the fight had properly developed — a result McGregor clearly regards as unresolved.