Confirmed: UFC announce Conor McGregor's long-awaited return

UFC megastar Conor McGregor is making his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

Having not fought since 2021 after snapping his leg against Dustin Poirer at UFC 264, the UFC has confirmed that the former double champion will return in a main event bout at UFC 329 against the No.4 ranked lightweight Max “Blessed” Holloway at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Their five-round bout will take place on Sunday, July 12 in Australia and will be fought in the welterweight division (77.5kg) – a weight class which Holloway has never fought in before.

This won’t be the first fight between the pair though. "The Notorious" defeated Holloway over a decade ago, back in 2013, winning by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). However, that fight was in the featherweight division (65.8kg), a stark contrast to their scheduled International Fight Week main event.

McGregor vs Holloway 2 will be accompanied by a stacked main card, consisting of a lightweight banger between Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis and fan favourite Paddy Pimblett (co-main), alongside Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista, Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanaugh, and Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson will be making his UFC debut against Elisha Ellison.

Former Aussie middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will be featured on the prelims as well in his light heavyweight debut.

See the full card below:

Main Card

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway (No.4 ranked lightweight) - Welterweight
Benoit Saint Denis (5) vs Paddy Pimblett (6) - Lightweight
Cory Sandhagen (4) vs Mario Bautista (8) - Bantamweight
Brandon Royval (4) vs Lone’er Kavanaugh (6) - Flyweight
Gable Steveson vs Elisha Ellison - Heavyweight

Prelims

Robert Whittaker (No.10 ranked middleweight) vs Nikita Kyrlov (13) – Light heavyweight
Luke Riley vs Kai Kamaka III - Featherweight
Damian Pinas vs Cesar Almeida – Middleweight
Cody Garbrandt vs Adrian Yanez – Bantamweight
Tracy Cortez (8) vs Wang Cong (12) – Women’s flyweight
Ode’ Osbourne vs Cody Durden - Flyweight

Bout order not confirmed.