McGregor team wants quick UFC return

Conor McGregor’s comeback is being framed as more than one big night in Las Vegas.

McGregor returns at UFC 329 on July 11 against Max Holloway, but his manager Audie Attar says the plan is not to fight once and disappear again. After years of cancelled dates, injuries and long gaps, McGregor’s team is already talking about a faster second step.

Attar said they are focused on Holloway first, but he also made it clear that the next move should not take another year.

“We’re definitely looking forward to not only this fight, Max Holloway, July 11, and then that next fight, and we’re not gonna wait a year,” Attar said.

That line matters because McGregor has not fought since the Dustin Poirier trilogy in 2021. UFC 329 is already a huge return on its own. If he fights again soon after, the comeback becomes a real run instead of another single McGregor event.

Holloway comes first

McGregor still has to get through Holloway before anyone can talk seriously about the next opponent.

The rematch arrives 13 years after their first fight. McGregor won that 2013 meeting by decision, long before he became the UFC’s biggest star and long before Holloway became one of the best featherweights in the sport.

The new fight is completely different. It is at welterweight, on International Fight Week, inside T-Mobile Arena, with McGregor returning after the longest layoff of his UFC career.

Holloway has been far more active. He has fought elite names, taken heavy damage, won major fights and stayed close to the top while McGregor has been away. That is the part Attar and McGregor’s team cannot ignore.

• Conor McGregor faces Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11.
• Audie Attar says the team does not want another year-long wait after that fight.
• McGregor has not fought since his 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier.
• McGregor beat Holloway by decision in their first fight in 2013.
• The rematch takes place at welterweight during International Fight Week.
• McGregor has two fights left on his current UFC contract.

Chandler was still part of the road

Michael Chandler was the name tied to McGregor for a long time.

The two coached The Ultimate Fighter, traded lines for months, and were booked for UFC 303 before McGregor withdrew because of a toe injury. That fight never happened, and Chandler eventually moved on.

Attar said McGregor wanted the Chandler fight, but the Holloway rematch became the next opportunity. In many ways, Holloway is now the bigger return fight. Chandler had the long build. Holloway has the history, the old result and the fan base.

There is also less need to explain the matchup. McGregor and Holloway already shared the cage. Holloway has wanted the rematch for years. McGregor gets a familiar opponent with a much bigger name than the young version he beat in 2013.

The contract makes every fight bigger

The two-fight contract detail gives this comeback a sharper edge.

McGregor is not entering a long UFC deal with years of clear bookings ahead. He has two fights left on the current contract, and that makes every step feel heavier. Holloway is the first one. The next fight, if it comes quickly, could shape what happens between McGregor and the UFC after that.

McGregor has already spoken about other combat sports ideas, including bare-knuckle boxing and unusual crossover names. None of that matters as much as July 11 right now, but it keeps the wider picture alive.

A win over Holloway changes everything. It gives McGregor a real result after years away and makes the next booking much easier to sell. A loss makes the quick-turnaround talk harder, especially if Holloway pushes the pace and exposes the layoff.

McGregor has to make the schedule real

McGregor’s career has had plenty of announcements, plans and teasing posts. The difference now has to be the follow-through.

Attar’s message is clear: UFC 329 should not be the end of the comeback. The team wants Holloway first, then another fight without another long wait.

That sounds good for UFC, for fans and for McGregor’s own momentum. But the cage decides how real that plan is. Holloway is not a warm-up fight. He is active, experienced and difficult to break over long rounds.

If McGregor wins and comes out healthy, the next opponent becomes one of the biggest stories of the year. If the fight goes badly, the whole plan changes in one night.

For now, the message from his team is simple enough. McGregor is back for Holloway, and they do not want the comeback to stop there.