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Matt Brown argues Conor McGregor might be at his best at UFC 329: ‘He’s got to prove motherf*ckers wrong’

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4 months ago

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Matt Brown argues Conor McGregor might be at his best at UFC 329: ‘He’s got to prove motherf*ckers wrong’

Conor McGregor finally makes his comeback at UFC 329 on Saturday where he's an underdog against Max Holloway in his first fight in five years.

Coming off a devastating broken leg, combined with all that time off, has a lot of fighters, fans, critics questioning if McGregor can even come close to the same person who once conquered two divisions in the UFC while becoming the biggest global superstar in combat sports. UFC welterweight knockout king Matt Brown has argued for several years now that he never believed McGregor would fight again, but just days away from his return, the narrative has now shifted to questions about what should anyone expect out of a former pound-for-pound great who is about to turn 38 years old and competing for the first time since 2021.

But Brown now argues that all the doubts and questions surrounding McGregor might actually bring the best out of him in this upcoming fight against Holloway.

“We're not going to see the same Conor, that's for sure,†Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I don't disagree with that at all. But there's a couple things to take into account. For one, when we say we're not going to see the same Conor McGregor, we know that, because he's not going to have that same hunger he had before. But coming off a couple of losses, he's got something to prove now. This is a very, very big fight for him personally. Every Conor McGregor fight is big publicly, but personally, this is the world to him. He might have some of that hunger back.

“He's got to win this fight. He's got to prove motherf*ckers wrong. Not that he didn't necessarily feel that before, but he was on top of the world. I'm sure he more expected to win versus have to win. This is putting him on the pressure cooker. He has to win this fight. This is a terrible look if he doesn't win this fight. It really affects a lot of things going forward.â€

McGregor enters the fight with one more bout left on his UFC contract, and he's going to continue drawing crowds whether he wins or loses, but the hype and expectation surrounding his future changes dramatically if he gets decimated by Holloway.

As crazy as it might seem, McGregor winning could potentially slot him into a title fight against new UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who has already expressed interest in that matchup.

But the complete opposite happens if McGregor loses and that's why Brown can't help but wonder if the Irish superstar really is pouring everything into getting ready for this matchup on Saturday.

“Does he fight again? Does he renegotiate with the UFC with one fight left on his contract after this?†Brown said. “There's so many pieces where a win is such a massive difference here. Again, you could say that with every fight. The next fight is always the biggest fight. But this one feels a little bit different. Coming back, all the hype and he knows as well as we do, if he doesn't win, everybody's going to be like ‘don't fight again, we don't need to see this anymore.'

“So what kind of demand are we going to have? It's Conor, we're always going to have demand, but the demand's not going to be the same. If he goes and wins, and he beats Max Holloway, it will be huge. I'm just saying there's going to be a big gap in the desire to see him again. I understand we're always going to want to watch Conor. People don't need to explain that to me. He could fight anybody, anywhere, any time just like Floyd Mayweather does and people still watch Floyd. But if he wins, there's a huge difference in how much people [want to see him fight]. He understands all of this.â€

Much has been made about McGregor coming back and getting a top-five ranked opponent like Holloway but Brown says there might be a method to the madness in that kind of matchmaking.

With the fight happening at 170 pounds — a weight class where McGregor has competed several times and Holloway has not — Brown looks back to their first fight in 2013 and sees similar issues that could come up again in the rematch.

“He out-physicalled Max the first time,†Brown said. “He did a lot of takedowns. I know he tore his ACL during the fight, but he overall just out-physicalled him. He bullied him a little bit, pushed him around. It only makes sense to come back and do this at this bigger weight class where Conor appearingly so has adapted to that size, probably a long time ago.

“So when we put all of that into account, and he picks Max Holloway to come back against, someone that he beat once, that he bullied, I think he looks at Max's trajectory and Max has been fighting all the top guys, but in the last few fights, he's been knocked out. He got taken down, which would all be stuff in Conor's game plan. Either knock him out or maybe do like he did in the first fight, bully him around, take him down, hold him down.â€

As far as a prediction goes, Brown is sticking by Holloway to win at UFC 329, but he won't discount the possibility that McGregor finds a way to get it done, especially knowing how much is riding on this particular performance.

“I could see where Conor could have some hunger,†Brown said. “I could see where he could see a clear path to victory here. Of course, it's not going to be easy. This is Max Holloway. This is not going to be an easy fight, and when I first heard about it, I was like that's the last dude you want to come back against.

“But the more you put the pieces together, it makes a lot more sense. Of course, Conor's had five years to think about it so he's put a lot of pieces together.â€

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

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Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called

Published

11 hours ago

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November 8, 2026

By

Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called
Johnny
Walker's heavyweight run is going faster than he planned.

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights Sean Brady
and Gabriel
Bonfim were originally scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 124 on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However,
Brady pulled out because of a severe staph infection and the
promotion didn't book a replacement to keep Bonfim on the card.
Walker then accepted the headlining matchup against Waldo
Cortes-Acosta on nine days' notice.

What a victory over Waldo Cortes-Acosta could mean for Johnny
Walker

Walker (23-10, 1 NC) made his heavyweight debut against Mick Parkin
in October, scoring a bonus-winning first-round knockout. The
former light heavyweight recently revealed he originally wanted to
take things slow in his new weight class.

“I was thinking to take small steps and go slow in the division,â€
Walker said at media day ahead of UFC Vegas 124. “See how I feel at
heavyweight. That was my plan. God had different plans than me. God
has better plans for me.â€

Cortes-Acosta (17-4) was riding a three-fight win streak before
losing to Alexander
Volkov and Curtis
Blaydes this year. A win over “Salsa Boy†will launch Walker
into the heavyweight Top 10 in just his second appearance in the
division.

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Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

Published

12 hours ago

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November 8, 2026

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Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett might finally be ready to fight each other.

For years, Topuria and Pimblett have been embroiled in a heated rivalry, but the two have yet to settle things in the cage. After Topuria won the lightweight title last year, Pimblett even entered the cage to set up a showdown between the two. Ultimately, that never materialized as Topuria took time off for personal reasons and Pimblett lost an interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje in January.

But after Topuria also lost to Gaethje in their title unification bout at UFC White House, the path is now clear for the two to settle their bad blood, and Topuria says there's even the possibility that their rivalry will headline the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

“Paddy, Paddy, Paddy… I'll eat him up like the sausage he is!†Topuria told ABC.es. “There are no easy opponents. Paddy's a guy to be reckoned with, but come on, with that head of his, you just aim the punch that way and hit him.

“I've heard some rumors [about The Ultimate Fighter], but I haven't had any conversations with the UFC. I don't know what their interests are. When we resume talks with them, we'll see if we're on the same page. There are still good times ahead, but what matters most to me is getting back to training, feeling healthy and well, and then we'll be ready for whatever comes up.â€

While there's still no official word on whether or not the UFC is interested in Topuria and Pimblett coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter, Pimblett has also called for it, suggesting the two could “bring the ratings back†to the program. Also, unsurprisingly, Pimblett thinks he would get the better of Topuria, both on the show and in the cage, which Topuria disputes.

â€If you listen to him, he'll say, ‘He beats me at everything,' but I beat him at anything I want,†Topuria said. “After a loss, it's hard to talk about these things, but Paddy, on the ground, just grappling, doesn't win a single point against me. He doesn't take me down, he doesn't pass my guard, he doesn't do anything. I don't see him as being any better than me on the ground. He's a pushover, he's got a sausage body, he thinks his size gives him an advantage, but he can't do anything.

“He's not like Justin. Justin is a dog; he knows how to dodge punches, he's very experienced, and he's very freestyle. He does things that, to me, are poorly executed, but they're effective. Paddy has nothing, no knockout punch, no unexpected takedowns, no submissions out of nowhere. Paddy is very predictable; you can see his intentions.â€

And if the Pimblett fight does materialize and Topuria looks as impressive as he thinks he will, then “El Matador†believes that even the welterweight title fight with Islam Makhachev that he lost when Gaethje upset him could be back on the table.

“Everything can make sense again, of course,†Topuria said. “Yeah, it's going out there for my next fight, knocking out Paddy, and everyone's going to be like, ‘WOW, look how focused Ilia is!' You're only as good as your last fight.â€

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UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights

Published

1 day ago

on

November 7, 2026

By

UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights
Trending:

Dricus du Plessis' move to light heavyweight teased by next potential opponent

The Octagon remains at the Apex for tonight's UFC Vegas 124 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker.

Cortes-Acosta (17-4 MMA) will enter this evening's main event with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Salsa Boy' is coming off unanimous decision losses to Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov in his most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, Waldo had strung together three straight stoppage wins, including a second-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.

Meanwhile, Johnny Walker (23-10 MMA) made his return to heavyweight last month and scored first-round knockout victory over Mick Parkin. The 34-year-old Brazilian has gone 2-3 over his past five fights overall.

UFC Vegas 124 is co-headlined by a women's strawweight bout between perennial division contenders Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba.

Suarez (12-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a two-fight winning streak, this after scoring victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez in her most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those triumphs, Tatiana had suffered her first career loss at the hands of Weili Zhang in a bout for the women's strawweight title.

Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA) most previously competed this past April, where she scored a unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci. Prior to that, ‘Carcará' dropped a decision to Mackenzie Dern in a fight for the promotion's then vacant strawweight title at UFC 321.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC Vegas 124 Main Card (8pm EST on Paramount+)

265 lbs: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker – Walker def. Cortes-Acosta via TKO at 2:27 of Round 3

115 lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba – Suarez def. Jandiroba by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

135 lbs: Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith – Smith def. Grant via KO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1

205 lbs: Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando – Fernando def. Elekana by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

135 lbs: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic – Milosevic def. Cachoeira via TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:40 of Round 2

125 lbs: Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli – Raposo def. Degli by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

UFC Vegas 124 Prelims (5pm EST on Paramount+)

145 lbs: Ollie Schmid vs. Keiichiro Nakamura – Schmid def. Nakamura by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

265 lbs: Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenco – Peterson def. via TKO (punches) at 4:47 of Round 3

125 lbs: Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes – Silva def. Fernandes by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Jose Delano – Magomedov def. Delano by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Austin Bashi vs. Carlos Calderon – Bashi def. Calderon via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of Round 1

185 lbs: Andre Petroski vs. Mantas Kondratavicius – Petroski def. Kondratavicius via TKO (ground and pound) at 4:39 of Round 2

170 lbs: Seokhyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman – Ko def. Turman by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

170 lbs: Jose Souza vs. Jonny Parsons – Souza def. Parsons via KO (punches) at 4:16 of Round 2

Who are you picking to emerge victorious in tonight's heavyweight main event between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker? Share your predictions in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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