McGregor reveals plan for the final stretch of his UFC contract: comeback against Holloway could determine his next major move
Conor McGregor is once again at the center of the UFC’s business and sporting story. The former two-division champion has outlined how he sees the final two fights of his current contract with the world’s largest MMA organization, and the first stop should be UFC 329, an event at which a rematch with Max Holloway awaits him on July 11, 2026, in Las Vegas. According to the UFC’s official announcement, McGregor and Holloway are expected to headline the event at T-Mobile Arena, marking the Irishman’s return to the Octagon for the first time after almost five years away from competition. Alongside that comeback, McGregor announced that his next fight, also the last under his current contract, should take place in April 2027. After that, the question remains open as to whether he will sign a new deal with the UFC or try to use his status as one of the most commercially valuable fighters in the history of combat sports on the open market.
Rematch in Las Vegas after more than a decade
In its event announcement, the UFC stated that McGregor will return against Holloway in the UFC 329 main event, while the UFC’s official ticket schedule confirms that the event is set for July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event is placed at the center of the UFC’s International Fight Week, which, according to the organization’s announcement, runs from July 9 to July 12, 2026, and includes supporting events, a fan program and the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Such timing is no coincidence, because the UFC traditionally tries during that week to assemble fights with the greatest commercial potential. McGregor’s comeback, especially after a long absence, is precisely the kind of event on which the promotion builds global attention. For the UFC, it is also a test of how capable its biggest star still is of carrying an event in both sporting and market terms.
McGregor and Holloway first met on August 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen in Boston, as confirmed by the UFC’s video archive. At the time, McGregor was at the beginning of his rise in the UFC, while Holloway was still building his status as one of the most durable and active fighters in the featherweight division. According to the MMA Decisions database, McGregor won that fight by unanimous decision, with scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26. The rematch comes in a completely different context: both have since become champions, globally recognizable names and fighters whose careers go far beyond the original story of two young talents. That is precisely why their second meeting is being sold as a fight with strong sporting legacy, but also as a check on the current condition of two veterans at the highest level.
McGregor’s return after injury and a long standstill
McGregor has not competed since July 2021, when in his third meeting with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 he suffered a heavy defeat by doctor stoppage after a leg injury. ESPN reported at the time that Poirier was declared the winner by technical knockout after McGregor injured the lower part of his leg in the closing stages of the first round. That injury halted his career at a moment when he was already trying to come back after a series of competitive and organizational turns. Since then, his return has been announced several times, including a previously planned fight against Michael Chandler, but no comeback appearance took place before the agreement for UFC 329. That is why the duel with Holloway carries additional weight: it is not only about continuing an old rivalry, but about the first real answer to the question of what remains of McGregor as a competitor after a long period outside the cage.
The official UFC website still describes McGregor as an Irish professional MMA fighter and a former featherweight and lightweight champion. That fact explains why his return attracts so much attention regardless of the fact that he has not had a UFC victory since 2020. At his sporting peak, McGregor combined knockout efficiency, an aggressive media presence and the ability to turn fights into events beyond the narrow MMA circle. But the current situation is significantly different from the period when he won titles against Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez. He now returns as a veteran who must prove that the layoff, injury and age have not decisively changed his speed, endurance and ability to adapt in a fight that, according to available announcements, should take place at welterweight.
Holloway as an opponent who is no longer the same fighter from 2013
Max Holloway enters the rematch with his own great experience and the reputation of a fighter who, after his first loss to McGregor, built one of the most stable careers in the modern UFC. In its report on the official UFC 329 poster, MMA Fighting recalled that Holloway has since become a former featherweight champion and the holder of the symbolic BMF belt, although before this rematch he suffered a defeat to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326. That fact makes the fight more complex than a simple replay of an old meeting. McGregor has the win from the first duel, but Holloway has far more years of continuity in the UFC’s competitive rhythm. In sporting terms, the difference between McGregor’s explosiveness and Holloway’s pace could be exactly what determines the direction of the fight.
Throughout his career, Holloway has built the identity of a fighter who builds pressure through volume striking, movement and the ability to force an opponent into a high pace. McGregor, by contrast, was at his most dangerous in his best years when he imposed distance, the rhythm of counterattacks and the precision of his left hand. The first duel from 2013 cannot be a simple indicator of what may happen in 2026, because the bodies and styles of both fighters have gone through years of elite competition. Still, that meeting remains an important reference point because McGregor then proved he could beat Holloway even when the fight did not develop exclusively as a striking duel. For Holloway, the rematch represents an opportunity to remove one of the best-known defeats from the early phase of his career.
Two fights until a decision on the future
The most important part of McGregor’s announcement concerns the contract. According to reports by Yahoo Sports and other media accounts citing discussions about his status, McGregor has two fights remaining before his current UFC contract expires. The first is, according to the official schedule, the duel with Holloway at UFC 329. The second is, according to McGregor’s announcement, planned for April 2027, but the UFC has not yet announced either the opponent or the event on which that appearance would take place. For that reason, this part of the plan should be viewed as a fighter’s announcement, not as a fully confirmed organizational schedule. In the UFC, plans often change because of injuries, negotiations, results of previous fights and commercial decisions.
The possible expiration of the contract puts McGregor in an unusually strong negotiating position, but also in front of a serious sporting risk. If he shows against Holloway that he can still beat elite opponents, his market position could strengthen further. If he loses convincingly, the UFC will have a different starting point in any negotiations over a new contract, while interest in alternative projects could depend more on his name than on his current sporting value. In both cases, the final two fights under the current contract become more than the end of one contractual cycle. They could determine whether McGregor ends his career as an active UFC star, an occasional special project or a free fighter trying to turn his own value into new formats of the combat-sports business.
What free agency would mean
Free agency in McGregor’s case would not mean only the possibility of signing with another MMA organization. ESPN and MMA Fighting previously reported that McGregor and his company McGregor Sports and Entertainment became co-owners of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2024, which immediately opened room for speculation about a possible bare-knuckle fight after the end of his UFC obligations. While he is under UFC contract, such a move cannot simply be carried out without the organization’s approval. After the contract expires, at least in theory, he could negotiate appearances in other formats, including boxing, BKFC or special events built around his name. Still, there is currently no official confirmation that such a move has been agreed or that McGregor has made a final decision.
The UFC, on the other hand, has a clear interest in keeping a fighter who, even after several years of inactivity, remains one of the few athletes capable of attracting global attention beyond the standard MMA audience. But the organization must also assess the sporting sustainability of such cooperation. McGregor’s status is not the same if he returns with a win and a convincing performance, if he completes a competitive fight without winning, or if it becomes clear that he can no longer keep up with the pace at the top. That is precisely why UFC 329 is important not only as a single event, but as the beginning of a public assessment of the final phase of his career. For McGregor, every round against Holloway will carry both sporting and negotiating significance.
Anti-doping framework and conditions for return
McGregor’s return is also taking place in the context of the UFC’s anti-doping program. Combat Sports Anti-Doping announced in October 2025 that McGregor had accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility for a violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy connected to missed whereabouts obligations for testing. According to that official announcement, the sanction was retroactive and ended on March 20, 2026, which means it does not prevent him from competing on July 11 at UFC 329. CSAD stated in the release that McGregor cooperated in the investigation and accepted responsibility, which is why the standard sanction was reduced. This part of the context is important because every fighter’s return after a long absence is also viewed through health, regulatory and competitive readiness.
The UFC’s anti-doping program, according to its official description, includes unannounced testing of active fighters throughout the year. For McGregor, that means the path to return is not only a matter of promotion, training and agreement on an opponent, but also of meeting the regulatory conditions for competing. A broad public debate has surrounded his absences and injuries for years, but for the fight itself the key fact is that his sanction expired before the scheduled date of UFC 329. The organization thus gets a legal and regulatory framework for a major comeback event, while McGregor gets the opportunity, after a long period of speculation, to be judged once again by his performance in the Octagon.
UFC 329 as a commercial test and sporting turning point
According to MMA Fighting, UFC 329, alongside the McGregor and Holloway rematch, includes a series of other announced fights, including Paddy Pimblett against Benoit Saint Denis, Cory Sandhagen against Mario Bautista and Robert Whittaker against Nikita Krylov, although the final fight order may depend on the organization’s final decisions. Such depth in the program is important because the UFC does not want to base the event solely on one fight, even though it is clear that McGregor’s name will carry the largest share of global attention. International Fight Week further increases visibility because it brings part of the industry, fans, media and former fighters to Las Vegas. If the event proves successful, the UFC will have a strong argument that McGregor remains commercially extremely valuable. If the sporting part fails, the discussion about his future will be considerably more cautious.
For Holloway, a victory over McGregor would be important both sportingly and symbolically. It would remove the 2013 defeat from the center of their shared story and confirm that continuity of fighting matters more than an old result. For McGregor, a win would open space for more ambitious negotiations and perhaps one more major final appearance in April 2027. A defeat would not necessarily erase his market value, but it would change the tone of the conversation about what the public and the UFC can expect from him as an active fighter. That is why the rematch with Holloway is much more than nostalgia: it is a fight that can shape the final chapter of one of the most unusual careers in UFC history.
Sources:
- UFC – official announcement of McGregor’s return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas (link)
- UFC Tickets – official event schedule and confirmation of the UFC 329 location at T-Mobile Arena (link)
- UFC International Fight Week – official information about the 2026 International Fight Week program in Las Vegas (link)
- UFC – Conor McGregor profile and information on his status as a former two-division champion (link)
- UFC – video archive of the first McGregor and Holloway duel from 2013 (link)
- MMA Decisions – judges’ scorecards and result of the first McGregor vs. Holloway duel (link)
- ESPN – report on McGregor’s defeat to Dustin Poirier and injury at UFC 264 (link)
- UFC Anti-Doping / CSAD – official announcement of McGregor’s 18-month sanction for missed whereabouts obligations for testing (link)
- MMA Fighting – information on the poster, announced UFC 329 card and broader context of Holloway’s career (link)
- Yahoo Sports – overview of McGregor’s contractual status and remaining fights under his current UFC contract (link)
- ESPN – report on McGregor’s entry into the ownership structure of BKFC (link)
- MMA Fighting – additional context on McGregor and McGregor Sports and Entertainment as co-owners of BKFC (link)