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Confirmed: UFC announce Conor McGregor's long-awaited return
Connor Scanlon • May 17th, 2026 3:08 pm
UFC megastar Conor McGregor is making his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
Having not fought since 2021 due to snapping his leg against Dustin Poirer at UFC 264, the UFC has confirmed that the former double champion will return in a main event bout at UFC 329 against the No.4 ranked lightweight Max “Blessed” Holloway at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Their five-round bout will take place on Sunday, July 12 in Australia and will be fought in the welterweight division (77.5kg) – a weight class which Holloway has never fought in before.
This won’t be the first fight between the pair though. "The Notorious" defeated Holloway over a decade ago, back in 2013, winning by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). However, that fight was in the featherweight division (65.8kg), a stark contrast to their scheduled International Fight Week main event.
McGregor vs Holloway 2 will be accompanied by a stacked main card, consisting of a lightweight banger between Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis and fan favourite Paddy Pimblett (co-main), alongside Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista, Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanaugh, and Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson will be making his UFC debut against Elisha Ellison.
Former Aussie middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will be featured on the prelims as well in his light heavyweight debut.
See the full card below:
Main Card
Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway (No.4 ranked lightweight) - WelterweightBenoit Saint Denis (5) vs Paddy Pimblett (6) - LightweightCory Sandhagen (4) vs Mario Bautista (8) - BantamweightBrandon Royval (4) vs Lone’er Kavanaugh (6) - FlyweightGable Steveson vs Elisha Ellison - Heavyweight
Prelims
Robert Whittaker (No.10 ranked middleweight) vs Nikita Kyrlov (13) – Light heavyweightLuke Riley vs Kai Kamaka III - FeatherweightDamian Pinas vs Cesar Almeida – MiddleweightCody Garbrandt vs Adrian Yanez – BantamweightTracy Cortez (8) vs Wang Cong (12) – Women’s flyweightOde’ Osbourne vs Cody Durden - Flyweight
Bout order not confirmed.
