LAS VEGAS – Sin City may have missed out on the opportunity to host a World Cup match, but all eyes will be fixated on the Strip on July 10 when “The Notorious” Conor McGregor makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena after a five-year hiatus.
McGregor’s bout with Max Holloway, a fellow fan favorite, is set to headline UFC 329 a week from Saturday. The event will mark the culmination of UFC’s annual International Fight Week, which will surely see a boost in attendance and atmosphere given the amount of global tourists in the States for the football festivities.
It could also mark the resurrection of the biggest star mixed martial arts has ever produced, at a time when the sport needs him more than ever. But the word could is carrying a lot of weight there.
Not so long ago, the idea that McGregor could win this fight after such a long layoff seemed like a foreign concept to me. Doubly so because of how he went out of the UFC to begin with, suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier that marked his third loss in four fights and sealed his fall from a height no one besides himself had even reached before. However, after seeing what the New York Knicks pulled off in the NBA Finals and what Justin Gaethje pulled off at the White House, I can’t help but believe that the simulation has gone haywire and the things that actually should be happening have fully given way to the unbelievable and absurd.
As it stands, Holloway is currently the substantial betting favorite and sits between -220 and -250 depending on the market. Holloway, of course, is coming off a rather devastating loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March, where he was thoroughly outclassed and lost his BMF belt in the process. Holloway was entering the Oliveira fight on a high after his July 2025 defeat of Poirier, but that night showed that his boxing is really his only viable weapon at this point in his career. He’s not going to overpower McGregor with wrestling or win the fight on the ground, he’s going to stand and bang and fight his typical style of fight that McGregor actually matches up well with.
If I had to pick the fight now, 10 days out, I’d still roll with Holloway. But as you can probably tell by reading this, I get a little closer to believing that the crazy Irishman could pull it off each day. I can only imagine that belief growing once we get to fight week and he gets back on the microphone and in front of the fans and press, but at the end of the day he has to be the old McGregor in the Octagon and not just at the podium if he wants his return to be triumphant.