A Rematch For Ages: McGregor vs. Holloway is On!
It appears that Conor McGregor is finally prepared to end his UFC hiatus and get back to the octagon. A few days ago, UFC made it clear that The Notorious One is set to return at the UFC 329 where his fight vs. Max Holloway will be the main event. As far as welterweight goes, and maybe the entire world of MMA, this was a fight we all were waiting for.
Even after five years without an MMA fight, McGregor is still the biggest star in the sport. While this might be true, he is probably far from being the best fighter in his category. Father time waits for no one and the Irishman is no exception. No fighting, and five years after his last bout, a defeat at that, he is set to meet Max Holloway in the octagon once again. The last time the two met, and that was some 13 years ago, Conor came out victorious. It was only his second UFC fight, but even then it was evident that he is a star in the making.
Today, while still a star, Conor McGregor has been doing everything he thought off for the last five years, with none of it being related to MMA. Back in 2021 he suffered a defeat in the hands of Dustin Poirier, after an unfortunate leg injury. He lost to Poirier on the feet too, as he was punched to defeat by the same fighter only a year before. Considering just how big of a star Conor is, it is hard to imagine that it has been almost a decade since his last victory. It was a win, yes, but not one worthy of bragging rights, as he defeated Donald Cerrone, in what was his last defeat on a six match skid, to end his career.
What most fans see in Conor McGregor is a strong sense of nostalgia, as in his prime, he was a remarkable fighter, and a true superstar in every sense of the word. Yet, it is time that we acknowledge that he is not that fighter anymore. His rare blend of physical attributes, striking game like no other, speed and power, are no longer present. He will fight in a higher category than he did in his prime, and also he will be 37 years of age when he fights Holloway, with five years of inactivity.
Max Holloway, on the other hand, is one of the most active fighters in the UFC. You could argue that he doesn’t say no to a fight, creates no unnecessary breaks, and when fights, he pulls no punches. Not long ago, he was headlining an event, when he fought against Charles Oliveira at FC 326 for the BMF titles. Yes, he lost in a lopsided fashion, but that loss shouldn’t be taken against him. Oliveira got him on takedowns, which was an easy thing to do considering the difference in size between the two men. We say this, because size will play a role when Holloway faces McGregor. For the majority of his career, Holloway fought in the featherweight division. At UFC 329, he will be facing the Irishman at welterweight, in what will be his first bout in the division. While this is important, Holloway probably doesn’t have to worry about McGregor attempting to take him down. It’s been a while since The Notorious One took down another fighter in a fight, as it happened in 2014 the last time vs. Diego Brandao. Funnily enough, McGregor was quite successful in taking down Holloway the last time the two men faced as he completed four out of five takedowns.
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 13 Years Ago
As we said, the two men already faced each other 13 years ago. It was a memorable fight. Yet, the two men were just boys. Neither had fame, fortune, and funnily enough, no tattoos either. During UFC Fight Night 2013 they weren’t even on the main card, but were the stars of the night by all accounts. Before facing Holloway, McGregor only had one UFC fight, a knockout against Marcus Brimage. Despite a short UFC career, big things were expected of him, as he was already a big star in Ireland. On the other hand, Max Holloway was a replacement fighter on the night who stood on a 3:2 UFC record. Due to the fight being held in Boston, Massachusetts, Conor felt as if he was fighting at home with the amount of Irish flags in the crowd.
When you look back at the card where McGregor started his rise to fame, it was a wild one, as the main event was a bout between Chael Sonnen and Mauricio Shogun Rua. Yet, McGregor stole the show, as he started gaining traction and attention from the crowd from the moment he stepped foot in the arena with what later became his trademark walkout. When you walk up the arena with Dropkick Murphys song “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” you know you’re about to deliver and McGregor did just that.
Despite the stardom the Irishman reached, and his immense quality as a fighter, his best days are behind him. The same cannot be said of Max Holloway, who is heavily favoured to win this fight, and if you’re into sports betting on MMA you’d be wise to take a shot at this exclusive UFC promo code, and wager on Max. The same scenario that happened to Max in 2013 could be on the cards for Conor at UFC 329. When they first fought, Conor started the bout aggressively and was landing some really good hits on Max. Yet, when he caught a strike to the leg from Holloway, his knee popped up, making him unable to dominate on the feet. That’s why he took the fight to the ground, in a move that Holloway was not expecting. Conor dominated the fight, both with strikes and with takedowns, and won by a unanimous decision. In the post fight interview, he claimed that this win felt like a loss to him, as he felt that he had enough power to take Max down with strikes, but if not for a knee injury, he would do so. Instead he had to change his game plan, and even with a win, The Notorious One was not satisfied.
While one could argue that Conor McGregor made more out of his career, after managing to capture titles in two divisions, taking out fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Denis Siver, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo in the process before making millions in a single fight vs. Floyd Mayweather, Max Holloway also did well for himself.
Blessed took his lesson from a loss to McGregor, and went on a 13 match winning streak. During those 13 matches he also became a featherweight champion, and a good one at that. He currently has an UFC record of 27-9, is three years younger than McGregor and is fighting close to his prime, unlike the Irishman. He also was dominating his division until younger and better fighters came around. When you look at his nine losses he has nothing to be ashamed of, as he only lost to cream of the crop fighters later in his UFC career, and we’re talking about the likes of Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Alexander Volkanovski.
What We Know About Booking?
This fight is must see television, so cancel all of your plans that you’ve had for July 11th. UFC 329 will be a monumental event, held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas which is a fitting venue for an event of this size. Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway is going to be a fight that will headline the event as a part of the International Fight Week. This is usually known as the biggest day for UFC as they celebrate the company in its home city. While Holloway vs. McGregor is going to steal the show, the co main event is not to be underestimated either, as we’re going to see Paddy Pimblett facing Benoit Saint-Denis. This is also a very anticipated duel, with the rest of the card still to be announced.
The only downside to UFC 329 is that many fans are still in fear that Conor is going to cancel the fight. He has teased his return for a couple of times in the past few years, only to disappoint his immense fan base in the end. After all he hasn’t fought since July 2021, and in the world of MMA that much time of being inactive is seen as retirement. It was expected for Conor to miss serious time after he broke his leg fighting Dustin Poirier, but no one predicted that his absence would turn into a five year hiatus. As we said, he often talked about getting back, and UFC Freedom 250 was the event that he was looking to be a part of. Now, it finally appears that he is going to be back, and all eyes are set on UFC 329 due to his announced participation.
What you can rest assured is going to happen, is that Max Holloway is going to fight at UFC 329, and he is more than eager to prove his worth. His last outing was a loss too, against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March when he lost his BMF title via anonymous decision. For the past couple of years, he often was cited as wanting to fight and defeat every fighter that he has lost to in the past, and there’s no doubt in our mind that the first name on his bucket list is Conor McGregor.
Early prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
Despite losing to Do Bronxs, and being 0-1 against McGregor in their career, the upcoming fight between Holloway and McGregor has Blessed as a clear favourite to win the duel. If you plan to bet on Holloway vs McGregor, you need to know that the odds on Holloway’s win are set at 1.24, while McGregor’s win is paid with 4.10 odds. It is hard to remember if Conor was ever this big of an underdog coming into a bout, even if we look at his early career. The majority of reasons for this type of advantage given to Max lie in the article above, and it all comes down to the string of losses he suffered at the end of his UFC run, and a long absence in the aftermath of Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.
If this duel is played out on foot, and with exchanges of heavy strikes, it is clear as day that Holloway is going to win. The only way for McGregor to win this one is to focus on his grappling, and spend his time attempting to take his opponent down. The scenario that played out on accident in their first fight, should be McGregor’s blueprint to win this duel if he has any serious intentions about his MMA career. While Max is slightly taller than Conor, the Irishman has a larger frame, and that’s another advantage he needs to use against the Blessed.
What we saw from Conor during his last bouts is that he is now a bigger fighter than he was in his prime. Bulking up made him stiffer and a bit slower. Yet, no one can argue that there is not some of that old Conor left. During his fight vs. Poirier, he showed that he can move his head like a pro, avoid hits, and return jabs and straights. His cardio was not on a high level, and it is hard to imagine that it has improved plenty during the last five years. His biggest weakness was, and it probably remained, the lack of fluidity that made him a sitting duck for Poirier to land his leg kicks. All of this is well evidenced, and we are sure that Max knows all about what type of fighter Conor is today.
At the same time, Holloway has kept his fluidity, and is a fighter that can land both strikes and leg kicks as he showed vs. Poirier at UFC 318. If he keeps his biggest strengths at 170 pounds even at 80%, he will be able to dominate this version of Conor. Thus, our early prediction for this duel is: Holloway wins via TKO in the 3rd round.
