McGregor returns to UFC in welterweight rematch with Holloway

Conor McGregor and Max Holloway met again at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, headlining UFC 329 and giving the UFC another marquee night built around two fighters whose names still move the sport. The five-round welterweight rematch landed on Saturday, July 11, 2026, as the centerpiece of the 14th annual UFC International Fight Week, with McGregor returning after almost five years away from the Octagon.

The event was staged with the kind of commercial machinery reserved for the UFC’s most bankable cards. The main card started at 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, with prelims at 7 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. PT and early prelims at 5 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. PT. Tickets went on sale Friday, May 29 at 10 a.m. PT through AXS, with a limit of eight per person, a reminder that McGregor remains one of the promotion’s most reliable live draws.

The matchup carried clear historical weight. McGregor and Holloway first fought in August 2013, when McGregor won by unanimous decision. ESPN’s history of the rivalry noted that they met 13 years ago, before either fighter had become a global star. McGregor’s own UFC debut came earlier that spring, on April 6, 2013, when he beat Marcus Brimage by first-round TKO in 67 seconds, a result that helped launch the run that turned him into a two-division champion.

Holloway entered the rematch as a former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder, while McGregor came back as the sport’s rare crossover figure whose bouts still pull the UFC’s attention back to its biggest stages. The fight sat inside a broader International Fight Week that also highlighted the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, underscoring how the organization continues to package its most marketable names alongside its biggest annual celebration. Coverage from ESPN, Yahoo Sports/Uncrowned, CBS Sports and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser followed the bout live, but the larger story was simpler: the UFC still leans hard on stars whose first meeting came long before either man had become a brand.