Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back home in Las Vegas, Nevada, later TONIGHT (Sat., July 11, 2026) to stage UFC 329 inside T-Mobile Arena, one of the most-anticipated (and record-setting) events of the year, featuring the long-awaited return of none other than Conor McGregor, who will battle Max Holloway in a Welterweight rematch live on Paramount+. In the co-main event, fan-favorite, Paddy Pimblett, will take on French destroyer, Benoit Saint-Denis, in a pivotal Lightweight bout.
After five years away from action, McGregor is finally set to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon in an attempt to reclaim the glory days of years past. The last time we saw “Notorious” inside the eight-walled cage he snapped his ankle in the first round of his trilogy fight versus Dustin Poirier back in April 2021 in a truly dramatic scene, leaving the loud-mouth Irishman angry and spewing verbal venom at “Diamond” while on the canvas. There were several talks of him returning ever since, with the closest coming against Michael Chandler in June 2024 following their stint as The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) coaches. That fight, however, never came to fruition because of a broken toe suffered by McGregor. Now, the biggest money-maker the sport has ever seen will finally get his comeback in a rematch 12 years in the making against Holloway. Indeed, “Notorious” defeated “Blessed” in what was McGregor’s second fight under UFC’s banner back in Aug. 2013 via unanimous decision (rewatch that here), beginning a run inside the Octagon for the Irishman that saw him become a two-division champion at Featherweight and Lightweight, stir up controversy at every turn and become UFC’s most successful pay-per-view (PPV) star ever. Despite his success inside he cage, his laundry list of troubles outside of it was always a dark cloud hanging over him. To that end, it didn’t do much to halt his momentum. In fact, some say all the drama may have even made him that much of a bigger star. It’s funny how that works. Through it all, McGregor made his mark in the sport (and even cross over into boxing), making him the most-sought after matchup for anyone on the roster fighting at Featherweight all the way up to Welterweight. At 37 years of age and after five years on the sidelines, however, some feel his best days may be long behind him and making a comeback at this point may not prove fruitful. All of that remains to be seen because he is adamant he is back and better than ever, and facing someone he already has a win over gives him an extra boost of confidence.