Conor McGregor is in a new fight for his future identityplayMcGregor, Holloway go back and forth at each other ahead of UFC 329 (0:56)Brett OkamotoJul 10, 2026, 10:42 AM ETClose
Brett Okamoto has stated on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
Follow on X
Multiple Authors
Email
Print
LAS VEGAS — As Conor McGregor’s return inches closer this weekend, two truths stand above anything else: Everyone knows McGregor, but no one knows if he’s still an elite fighter.
There was a time when those identities were one in the same, but we’re a long way from that in 2026. McGregor is still an undeniable draw — his return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 this weekend will set a new gate record for the company, according to UFC CEO Dana White — but that might say more about his abilities as an entertainer than as a fighter. Every McGregor appearance of the past decade has felt immeasurably big, but none has carried the unique weight of this one.
Because this one will tell us who he really is.
If McGregor upsets Holloway (Holloway is a -225 favorite by DraftKings Sportsbook), there will be a legitimate demand to see him in a championship fight. That seems unbelievable, considering his last victory was in 2020. But Holloway is ESPN’s fifth-ranked lightweight. A win over Holloway — with McGregor coming off a five-year layoff and significant leg injury — would instantly relegitimize McGregor in the sport. A win like that, paired with his star power, would have fans clamoring to see him in the biggest opportunity possible.
“Anything is possible if he wins on Saturday night,” White told TheMacLife. “… I got like five scenarios in my head if Conor wins, and like three if Max wins.”
Editor’s Picks
Picks for Conor McGregor’s return vs. Max Holloway at UFC 329
ESPN Staff
Six charts that explain Conor McGregor’s impact beyond his title reigns
Neil Paine
MMA world power index: Yan, Makhachev lead Russia to No. 1 spot
Brett Okamoto and Jeffrey Wagenheim
2 Related
But if he looks like a shell of his former self, like a man trying to be something he once was but no longer is, his identity will shift toward McGregor the celebrity, the spectacle and the draw — and further away from the fighter who prefaced it all. And once that shift occurs, it will be nearly impossible for him to reverse.
After Saturday, McGregor will have one fight left on his UFC contract. If he wins and positions himself for another big fight — he talked this week about chasing an unprecedented championship in three weight classes — the UFC will be under a lot of pressure to meet his financial demands on a potential extension. But if his performance suggests his best years are well behind him, the UFC will still want to keep him but at a potentially much lower cost. McGregor is more attractive as a title contender than an aging legacy fighter.
Both sides have acknowledged the matter of a contract extension is on hold until Saturday — which makes sense, considering how significant Saturday’s result will be to those conversations.
“It’s kind of fallen on, ‘Let’s let it happen on Saturday night and then let’s talk,'” McGregor told ESPN. “I hope to keep going [with the UFC] and I’m optimistic that will be the case.”
McGregor is in no danger of running out of future paydays. With a variety of streaming services looking for marquee events, an influx of foreign investments into combat sports and pop culture’s celebrity obsession in general, McGregor probably has more options than ever before. This week, he enthusiastically expressed interest in running back a boxing match against a 49-year-old Floyd Mayweather. There’s a potential, nostalgic trilogy against Nate Diaz to be made outside of the UFC, as well as some kind of crossover event with Jake Paul.
play
1:28
Conor McGregor: ‘I am the greatest featherweight since Bruce Lee’
Any of those would line McGregor’s pockets, but also represent that shift in who he has become. He has always been a prizefighter, particularly since that stated $100 million payday to box Mayweather in 2017 — but he’s also been able to cling to that identity as a legitimate title threat in MMA. His comments about a third championship sound ambitious, but not impossible. Again, it might not even be terribly far away with a win on Saturday. However, if he looks out of place against Holloway, any tease of him returning to glory fades away.
Based on some of his comments this week, McGregor seems to know it.
“I will prove myself, to myself,” McGregor mentioned of this fight. “Prove that I am who I say I am.”
Who McGregor says he is is still one of the best fighters in the world. And even now, more than six years removed from his last win, no one can definitively say he’s not. He lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov four fights ago, but everyone lost to Nurmagomedov. He suffered his first knockout loss in MMA to Dustin Poirier in January 2021, but Poirier was competing at a championship level at that time. He lost to Poirier again in July 2021, but that fight ended awkwardly when McGregor broke his leg.
All of his recent losses have had some context. A loss on Saturday won’t be as forgiving. Win or lose at UFC 329, he will still be a star with a lot of money to be made. The question is whether that will be as a serious fighter or as an entertainer.
