LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conor McGregor said he is ready for his return to the Octagon.
The 37-year-old Irishman is also convinced he'll have his way with Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.
The two will meet in a welterweight bout, as McGregor will compete for the first time in more than five years.
“Hallelujah!” McGregor exclaimed on Wednesday. “The Mac is back.”
McGregor earned a unanimous decision over Holloway in
a featherweight clash in 2013, when neither was an MMA megastar.
In the blink of an eye, McGregor’s star rose.
On Wednesday, he admitted he got caught up in his own stardom after winning UFC belts in two weight classes and becoming one of the biggest names in combat sports.
“I launched an Irish whiskey,” McGregor said. “I didn’t drink heavily, if at all, at that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, thousands upon thousands of bottles (are) in my garage.
”‘Sell this, Conor.’ OK, I’d leave my property with two bottles under my arm, and that was it. I was caught. And I wasn’t used to it. And that’s it. God gave me these lessons. That’s it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is.”
Easier said than done, perhaps, as the controversial former champion has navigated in and out of multiple controversies and legal issues over the past several years, including a rape case in which he was found civilly liable in 2024.
Prosecutors declined to charge him criminally, and McGregor doubled down on Wednesday that he will be vindicated.
“I’m an innocent man, and I’ll stand for my innocence until the day I go out,” he said. “That is still a situation where I fight. There’s a reason it didn’t go where it went and went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight.”
Saturday, McGregor (22-6) will face his biggest fight in years against a vengeful Holloway (27-9), whose last fight ended with a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Charles Oliveira on March 7.
McGregor, who last fought on July 10, 2021, spoke confidently about his comeback.
“Weight’s on point, body’s on point, mind’s sharper than ever, plan is laid set, and I’m ready to go to war,” he said. “I plan to contort Max’s body into such uncomfortable positions and have my way with him.”
McGregor suffered a horrific broken leg in his last match, his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier, and then withdrew from his scheduled fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 due to a broken pinky toe.
Meanwhile, Holloway has fought eight times since McGregor’s last fight, is out to avenge his loss to Oliveira, and is still thinking about exacting revenge from 2013.
“I’m going to go in there and put paws on him,” the 34-year-old Holloway said. “I’m going to make him wish that he didn’t come back.
"Actually, no. I’m not going to make him wish that. I’m going to make him think he can do it one more time, so we can rematch at the end of the year.”
Co-headlining the card is Benoit Saint Denis (17-3-0) and Paddy Pimblett (23-4-0) in a battle of top-10 lightweights, both of whom are hoping to position themselves for a title shot.
Saint Denis, 30, has turned in consecutive stoppage wins over Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker. The Frenchman is 9-2 in the UFC lightweight division. Pimblett, meanwhile, opened 2026 with a loss to new champion Justin Gaethje in their interim title clash that headlined UFC 324 in January. It brought an end to the 31-year-old Liverpool native’s nine-fight winning streak.
The main card will get underway in the lightweight division with King Green (35-17) facing Terrance McKinney (18-8). Former title challenger Brandon Royval (17-9) will meet Lone’er Kavanagh (10-1) in a flyweight match. Cory Sandhagen (18-6) and Mario Bautista (17-3) will be a battle of top-10 bantamweights.
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AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
