Conor McGregor is being widely counted out in his comeback.
The former lightweight and featherweight champion is headlining UFC 329, an event that closes out the 2026 edition of International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
McGregor will fight Max Holloway in a rematch, 13 years after fighting through a serious knee injury to beat ‘Blessed’ via unanimous decision.
Given his lengthy layoff and Holloway’s activity, not many are expecting McGregor to repeat that feat. If he does, though, the UFC president thinks it would go right to the top of the Irishman’s list of accolades.
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How high would Conor McGregor beating Max Holloway at UFC 329 rank among the best returns?
Dana White would rank Conor McGregor beating Max Holloway at UFC 329 top of his achievements
McGregor has won just a single fight since knocking out Eddie Alvarez to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history a decade ago.
After beating Donald Cerrone in 2020, the Irishman was KO’d by Dustin Poirier in January the following year. Six months later, McGregor broke his leg at UFC 264, starting a lengthy recovery period and Octagon hiatus.
With that in mind, many are expecting Holloway to comfortably avenge his 2013 loss to ‘The Notorious’.
During a recent interview with TNT Sports, UFC president Dana White discussed what it would mean if McGregor proves his doubters wrong.
“Without a doubt,” White said when asked if a victory on Saturday would be McGregor’s biggest achievement to date.
“After a five-year layoff, nobody’s ever done it. Nobody’s ever done it, come back and looked the same.
“Especially, in a lot of these other combat sports, when a guy comes back after that big of a layoff, they take easy fights or what are perceived to be easy fights,” he added.
“This is anything but an easy fight. He is going in there with a straight killer who has been fighting the best of the best the entire time Conor has been gone.”
McGregor says Holloway has not improved since they first shared the Octagon 13 years ago.
He will soon have the chance to prove that theory by adding a second win over the Hawaiian fan favorite to his professional mixed martial arts record.
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