Max Holloway hasn't stood across the octagon from Conor McGregor in 13 years, but he'll finally get the chance to avenge that past loss when they meet again in the UFC 329 main event on Saturday.
In the lead-up to the highly anticipated fight, Holloway has certainly heard a lot of talk from McGregor — that much he always expected — but even he's been a little surprised by how much the Irish superstar is leaning on that past win from 2013. On that night, McGregor tore his ACL in the second round, and Holloway was dealing with a severe ankle injury, but the future two-division champion got the job done with a unanimous decision win.
As they prepare to clash in their rematch, Holloway is honest enough to admit that neither one of them should be banking on much from that first fight, although nobody has apparently shared that with McGregor.
“You guys have been seeing some interviews and him talking about the last one,†Holloway told MMA Fighting. “That was 13 years ago. It's kind of crazy. It's any of these rematches. I'm having these rematches 10 plus years later, and you can't take nothing away from that first time you fought. It is what it is. I can't wait. July 11. Return of the Max. Mystic Max. It's going to be a fun night.â€
While 13 years is a very long time, McGregor has earned a different number much more frequently lately, and that's five years. That's the amount of time that has passed since McGregor last competed in the UFC after dealing with a gruesome broken leg from his third encounter with Dustin Poirier back in 2021.
Of course, McGregor has promised that he's back and better than ever before, but it's impossible not to question what version shows up when he clashes with Holloway at UFC 329.
For his part, Holloway isn't thinking about the long layoff, or if McGregor is somehow returning past his prime, because making those kinds of assumptions could be disastrous.
“It's five years. It could have gone the other way,†Holloway explained. “We saw what he was doing in the five years, and that's where there's the questions. But I'm just mentally getting ready for the best Conor McGregor there is. Five years, you get to reset, you get to take care of your body, you get to not do weight cuts, and you just got to let your body recover for a little bit.
“I know everybody [is going to say] ‘Is Max blind? We saw him partying and blah, blah, blah.' But it is what it is. Maybe he wanted you to see that. No one knows what happened behind closed doors, have a camera following him around 24/7. At the end of the day, I'm getting ready for the best Conor McGregor, and I can't wait.â€
Coming off a disappointing outing against Charles Oliveira in his last fight, Holloway knows he's got plenty to prove in this fight, even if the majority of the narrative surrounding this rematch has been about McGregor.
That's why Holloway is determined to shut McGregor down and hopefully put him away in devastating fashion just to cement his status as one of the best fighters in the world.
But what happens if McGregor finds a way to stick around and make this a dog fight across all five rounds? What if McGregor just refuses to go away, and he's still swinging for the fences as the final moments tick away on the clock?
In that scenario, Holloway might get the chance to once again point down to the canvas and invite a slugfest just as he did to Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, which resulted in one of the craziest and most memorable knockouts in combat sports history.
But would McGregor actually risk it all in that moment?
“For sure. I think he would if we get to that point, and he has the energy to do it,†Holloway said. “We'll see what happens. If we don't get to that point, that'd be great. But if we do, I think he is [down]. Why not? Maybe. I would say he would do it. I've got nothing but respect for the guy. At the end of the day, I'd say he'd do it, but we've got to factor in how the fight went. I don't know how the fight is going. If the fight is competitive, I'd say for sure.
“If the fight is not [competitive], maybe not so. But there's so many different scenarios, but my heart is telling me that he probably would do it. He's back. His fans are there. People screaming for him. I think he might just push himself to go do it.â€
In a perfect world, Holloway hopes McGregor never makes it that far because he reserves that “point down†move for those final 10 seconds in the last round.
And for all the talk about the pressure surrounding McGregor and his comeback, Holloway doesn't discount the importance of this fight for his own career moving forward. A win puts Holloway in prime position to potentially battle for a UFC title again, but a loss sends him careening in the exact opposite direction, and that's the last thing he wants.
“I mean, it's do-or-die for both of us, I believe,†Holloway said. “There's a lot riding on this fight. Even though it's at 170, you see the 155-champ Justin Gaethje talking about this fight. You see a lot of people talking about if he does this, he can do this, he can go to the Islam [Makhachev] route. At the end of the day, it's a huge fight. That's all I can focus on. I'm just focused on Conor McGregor. I need to go out there, get my hand raised in exciting fashion. Not just get my hand raised. This sport, as you can see, just getting your hand raised sometimes doesn't get the job done for you.
“At the end of the day, I've got to go out there, I've got to be exciting. I've got to get a big finish, or if not a big finish, a super dominant win in a way where people are just mind-blown, and people are excited about it. People keep forgetting. Yes, we're fighters, we need to win, but we're also entertainers. That's what I plan to do. That's why people tune into my fights, and this fight is going to be no different.â€
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