Max Holloway says UFC 329 headline fight with Conor McGregor rivals 2029 World Cup - 'It has to be No. 1'

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Max Holloway is enthused by the popularity in the public discourse for his upcoming rematch against Conor McGregor. The pair will fight at UFC 329 on Saturday night, with Holloway believing the fight's relevance matches the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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The football tournament in North America has been embraced in a way that the 1994 event never was and there is plenty of enthusiasm for the competition despite the USMNT’s elimination at the hands of Belgium in the round of 16.

Despite that, Holloway thinks UFC - a more traditionally American sporting institution - is putting on a fight that equals FIFA’s huge spectacle.

In Las Vegas this weekend, live on TNT Sports Box Office and HBO Max, Holloway runs it back with former world champion McGregor. McGregor won their first fight in 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26 at featherweight.

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McGregor has not fought since 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier. He was defeated in his previous match, also against Poirier, the same year, and lost his third of four fights when Khabib Nurmagomedov settled their bitter victory with a submission win.

The most recent defeat resulted in a broken lower tibia which forced his retirement, and he is now looking to make a comeback after five years away, aged 37.

Holloway, 34, also lost his most recent fight, against Charles Oliveira in March at UFC 326, though he beat Poirier before then in 2025 at UFC 318.

The American fighter is moving up to 170lbs for the first time in his career for this clash and McGregor believes that the weight change gives him an advantage over Holloway.

The former BMF champion does not discount the merits of that argument but knows that the ultimate proof will be in the cage when the two come together on Saturday night.

He said: ”I never fought at this weight before. I don’t have training partners who fought at 170, 185, so at the end of the day, it is what it is.

”At the end of the day, I get what he’s saying. A fight, and this and that, and actually being in the octagon against an opponent. The beautiful thing is we get to find out. It’s a few days away and I can’t wait.”

To help him prepare for what awaits, he has been sparring with Jack Della Maddalena, a former UFC welterweight champion, for a fortnight.

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Della Maddalena will be in attendance to support Holloway in Las Vegas and Holloway gave some details on how their relationship had worked.

”It was amazing,” he recalled. ”Shout out to JDM. He was only supposed to be there for a week, and we loved training so much I asked if he could stay.

”He ended up staying two weeks, and he’s actually going to come out to the fight. It’s going to be fun. Just to support.”

Given the time away from the ring for McGregor, Holloway noted how much the fight had dominated recent discussion in public and he felt it was still in the mix up against the World Cup.

He argued: ”I think it has to be No.1. You’ve got the World Cup going on and people are still going on about Holloway v McGregor 2.

”You look at the ticket prices in Las Vegas, it’s insane. It's a huge moment and I plan on taking advantage of every second.”

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Holloway was wary of presupposing the tactics that McGregor might use, pointing to previous surprise UFC results that have tripped up fighters before.

He offered: ”It’s mixed martial arts. I’ve been seeing on social media, ‘Conor McGregor gameplan exposed!’ with shooting and grappling, whatever.

”Never say never - we saw what happened in the Nate fight [Diaz beat McGregor in an upset win at welterweight at UFC 196 in June 2016, before McGregor won an August rematch at UFC 202].

”He gets dinged good, he might change. This is mixed martial arts, don't count on it. If that's what you want to do, that's where we've got to go.”

McGregor has suggested that Holloway has lifted parts of his game to incorporate into his own.

The veteran happily accepted the charge and pointed out he looked across the sport - and beyond - to take lessons in order to improve.

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He said: ”I never lose in there - I learn. If I can take something from former opponents to my game, why not. It's fighting.To succeed in sport, you've got to grow.

”A lot of my game is from all over. I love Jose Aldo. I watch boxing. You watch Floyd Mayweather do stuff, I try to do boxing stuff like him.”

'That's why I'm back' - McGregor on his return

McGregor also spoke to TNT Sports and was asked how he felt in the ring - something he has been without now for half a decade.

Surprisingly, he answered: ”Peaceful. Calming. I'm happy. It's euphoric. You're putting the work in. Having the crowd be excited. The opponent.

”Going in to compete is a beautiful feeling. It's my favourite feeling in the world.”

He said he was coming back to enjoy the sport for its own sake, adding his return was ”for the love of the game." He added: "For the love of the craft and for my mastery. To continue to improve my mastery of martial arts. That's why I'm back.

”Best game in the world, baby. Combat sport fighting. Teaches discipline, dedication, focus. [You] test yourself to the absolute limit, the absolute maximum.

”I love the bout. A cracking contest. An iconic mixed martial arts contest with yours truly at the helm once again. I'm excited for it, and I'm excited about it.”

Asked if he was already looking ahead to another bout in 2026, he gave a positive answer, concluding: ”Yes. I wish it were this year. I've said my piece, and they've said their piece. Let's just get through this one.”

How to watch UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 in the UK

The main card of UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 will be shown exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office.

UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 costs £19.99 in the UK and can be watched via HBO Max, EE TV, Virgin Media TV, Prime Video and Sky. Details on how to purchase:

EE TV customers can purchase the event via their STB on channel 494.

Any HBO Max tier customer can purchase the event on hbomax.com. An HBO Max subscription to any plan is also required.

Prime Video customers do not need to have a Prime subscription to access this event. You can find live and upcoming PPV events in the ”Live and upcoming events” row on the Prime Video homepage and sports page, or by searching for a specific event title.

Republic of Ireland viewers can purchase TNT Sports Box Office via Sky at https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt-sports - €29.99.

Sky customers can purchase via the HBO Max app – Sky customers should check whether they already have HBO Max included at no extra cost in their subscription. For those without an HBO Max subscription, HBO Max starts from £4.99 for a month.

Virgin Media TV customers in the UK: customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV 360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View Events rail

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