Conor McGregor and Max Holloway are bringing out the best in each other and fans could be in store for an epic UFC 329 main event.
Saturday's headliners faced off for the final time following ceremonial weigh-ins at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and neither man backed down as they nearly went nose to nose ahead of their highly anticipated rematch.
Watch the intense faceoff below.
Afterwards, Holloway and McGregor were both given the opportunity to deliver a parting shot on the microphone, with Holloway going first.
“I'm too ferocious,†Holloway said. “I'm too relentless. If this guy's a missile, I'm a f*cking nuke!â€
McGregor followed with a message for the rowdy crowd.
“It's great to be back,†McGregor said. “Thank you to all the fans here in attendance, I hope you're all ready for a blockbuster event tomorrow night. ‘The Mac' is bringing it!â€
Co-main event lightweight contenders Benoit Saint Denis and Paddy Pimblett also had an energetic faceoff, with the fans roaring at Pimblett's arrival.
UFC 329 is headlined by a rematch 13 years in the making as former featherweight champions McGregor and Holloway meet in a welterweight contest. McGregor fights for the first time in five years and for the first time since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, while Holloway looks to rebound from a disappointing loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 that cost him his “BMF†championship.
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor
McGregor has chimed in on the struggles former opponent
Dustin
Poirier is facing, but not like most may have expected.
During a Thursday appearance on Smash Cast with
hosts Chael Sonnen
and Ian Parker, McGregor appeared to discuss a litany of subject.
In the show, he discusses topics like how he feels competing back
at welterweight, whether he will ever meet Floyd
Mayweather in the boxing ring again and his former opponents.
Notably, the subject of Poirier came up, a man McGregor faced three
times and ended up losing the trilogy match to in 2021.
Poirier, now retired, has been open with his struggles keeping
himself focused and on task now that he is no longer training to
prepare for mutual unarmed combat. In an
oft-discussed video, Poirier was filmed heavily intoxicated at
the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta in late June and arrested
for the misdemeanor of public drunkenness.
I hope he comes out right
Sonnen asked McGregor directly about Poirier's incident during the
show. Before responding, the Irishman sharply inhaled and collected
his thoughts.
“Karma is a mirror,†McGregor expressed. “It's not good to see. If
I was to say something to him, I would say: take this with absolute
seriousness. Do not engage with people. ‘Oh,' there's people [that
would say], ‘it was funny, I like him more,' and you see [them]
start laughing about it and maybe you wonder, ‘maybe it wasn't so
bad. Maybe I'll keep going.' And then the next one's worse, and
then you slip deeper and deeper.â€
It would not be McGregor if he did not slip in a barb or two, as he
jabbed Poirier for his post-retirement appearance and
admission that he can now recover properly by taking
performance-enhancing drugs.
“So, I would say, take this with the absolute seriousness,†he
remarked. “Funny enough, I spoke with [UFC broadcaster] Megan
Olivi, they asked me—not on this, it hadn't happened yet. But they
were asking me about Dustin and I'd say, ‘For him to retire and go
on steroids for no reason, I found that stupid. And then also, his
body didn't look any different…alarm belts went off in my [head],
and I thought [he should] take [his transgressions] with absolute
seriousness. Because, you don't want to slip further and further.
He obviously has to take accountability; I've seen something that
came out [where he] blames his father. You have to [take]
accountability [as] a man, that's it.â€
“Notorious†finished, saying, “It's not my business. And for the
sake of his family and children, and his new child born, I hope he
comes right.â€
LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor is set to make the walk to the octagon for the first time in five years, and has made some big promises ahead of his rematch against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329. The big question on everybody's mind seems to be, is the Mac truly back?
Catch the UFC 329 preview show video above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 is one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year and their UFC 329 clash is just a day away.
For fans champing at the bit for even more hype, UFC CEO Dana White released the cold open for Saturday's welterweight main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which caps off this year's International Fight Week.
McGregor, a former champion at 155 and 145 pounds, competes for the first time since July 2021, when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264. It's been even longer since McGregor's last win, a January 2020 knockout over Donald Cerrone, but “Notorious†remains one of the biggest names in combat sports.
Also a former champion at 145 pounds, Holloway is coming off of a disappointing loss to Charles Oliveira this past March. Oliveira grounded Holloway for five rounds to hand Holloway a decision defeat and take his “BMF†belt.
The co-main event between Benoit Saint Denis and Paddy Pimblett is also featured in the UFC 329 cold open. Saint Denis is on a four-fight finishing streak, while Pimblett looks to rebound from his first UFC loss after dropping a competitive decision to now-lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in January.