After five long years of inactivity, the biggest star in MMA history returns to the Octagon on Saturday as former two-division champion Conor McGregor takes over International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
McGregor, 37, will headline a UFC 329 card at T-Mobile Arena in a rematch some 13 years in the making against former featherweight king Max Holloway. The five-round bout will take place at 170 pounds yet could play a key role in the lightweight title picture.
The rest of the card features no shortage of big names from Paddy Pimblett and Cory Sandhagen to Robert Whittaker and a debuting heavyweight sensation named Gable Steveson.
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As we draw closer to fight night, let’s take a closer look at the five biggest storylines entering McGregor-Holloway II.
1. How much does Conor McGregor have left?
That’s the biggest unanswered question entering UFC 329 considering McGregor, who turns 38 on July 14, returns from a five-year layoff and a badly broken leg (sustained during his 2021 trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier). McGregor has won just one UFC bout over the past 10 years and has been anything but dedicated to his training during his time away from the Octagon. Given the party lifestyle that McGregor publicly flaunted and his constant negative missteps with the law since his last fight, there’s an understandable feeling that “The Notorious” is entering a chapter of diminished returns for as long as he continues fighting. He’s also fighting a 34-year-old version of Holloway who might be in the second act of his career but can still compete on the elite level, as evidenced by his wins over Justin Gaethje and Poirier over the past two years. McGregor’s star power and aura will seemingly always leave us interested in seeing him compete considering his life on the public stage has very much resembled a reality TV show. But the odds are certainly against the idea of McGregor turning back the clock and reminding us of how great he once was as the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.
2. The UFC 329 main event could become a quasi No. 1 contender fight
The lightweight division was turned upside down by Gaethje’s brutal upset of unbeaten champion Ilia Topuria at the UFC’s Freedom 250 event at the White House in June. And the race to determine the 37-year-old Gaethje’s first title defense is a crowded house full of marquee names in the running. BMF champion Charles Oliveira is fresh off of a wide win over Holloway and owns a 2022 first-round submission win over Gaethje in a title fight. There’s also No. 2 Arman Tsarukyan, provided he can get out of UFC CEO and president Dana White’s doghouse, and rising contender Benoit Saint-Denis, who faces Pimblett in Saturday’s co-main event. But what about the winner of McGregor-Holloway II? McGregor’s star power alone all but guarantees he would be a leading contender should he find a way to upset Holloway some 13 years after the Irish star scored a decision win in their first meeting. But don’t count out Holloway’s chances, even with his recent five-round defeat to Oliveira in March when he was badly outwrestled. Gaethje has long talked about wanting to avenge his UFC 300 loss to Holloway, which came in the form of a dramatic knockout with one second left in their five-round duel. There are also rumors of Oliveira being lined up for a BMF title defense later this summer, which could help the bigger star in Holloway slide in.
3. Paddy Pimblett heads directly back into the deep end of the pool
Let’s give respect where it’s earned. The 31-year-old Pimblett suffered his first UFC defeat in January when he was outslugged over five action-packed rounds against Gaethje in their interim lightweight title bout at UFC 324. But instead of seeking a softer return outside of the top 10 to lick his wounds, “Paddy the Baddy” accepted a quick return just over four months later, where he will meet Saint-Denis in Saturday’s co-headliner. Make no mistake, this is anything but a soft return. Saint-Denis, a 30-year-old striker from France, is riding a four-fight win streak — all by stoppage — and fresh off of finishing Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker inside of two rounds over the past 10 months. BSD is very much looking like a future title contender, which makes this a strategic move by Pimblett to try and catapult himself back into instant contention for the lightweight crown (or a coveted showdown with McGregor that he has been very vocal about of late).
4. Robert Whittaker embarks on a light heavyweight reinvention
Fresh off of a pair of disappointing defeats, the former middleweight king has decided to take his business north to the 205-pound division, where he will face the dangerous but inconsistent Nikita Krylov. At 35, this feels like a bit of a desperation move for Whittaker, who debuted as a welterweight in the UFC all the way back in 2012 and has long been considered too small to have an impact at light heavyweight. The skilled Whittaker will get a chance to prove everyone wrong in his debut, where he enters as a small betting favorite against the rabid Krylov. If there’s any encouraging news about this experiment, Whittaker is entering a division that is currently as lean as it has been in many years. Carlos Ulberg captured the vacant title left behind by Alex Pereira in April when he knocked out Jiri Prochazka but isn’t expected to return in 2026 due to a torn ACL. And the remainder of the top 10 at 205 pounds features plenty of retreads looking to revive themselves following Pereira’s knockout-fueled takeover of the division in recent years.
5. Gable Steveson very much looks like the next big thing at heavyweight
The amateur wrestling credentials of the 26-year-old Steveson speak for themselves. He was a five-time All-American at the University of Minnesota, a two-time NCAA Division I champion and a 2020 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. And after failed runs after college to plant his flag in both WWE and the NFL, Steveson is now focused full-time on MMA and has installed the sport’s GOAT, former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones, as his mentor and coach. Steveson will make his UFC debut on Saturday against Elisha Ellison (5-2), who lost his UFC debut by first-round knockout last September. Steveson is 3-0 with three first-round knockouts since turning pro 10 months ago and brings elite quickness and punching power along with his sublime grappling skills. UFC won’t truly know what it has in Steveson until he is properly tested but early signs show that he very much could be a major player in this division fairly soon.
