​Max Holloway and Conor McGregor didn’t unleash a flurry of exchanges in the UFC 329 main event, but they did trade words and moments inside the cage. McGregor’s return fight ended in disappointment, his first since the broken leg sustained in the July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. Once again, a leg issue plagued him, as he labored to regain his balance after an opening flying kick and never found his footing. With McGregor clearly dealing with another injury, referee Mike Beltran called a stop to the contest just over a minute into the first round.
In Holloway’s post-fight interview, he commended McGregor for wanting to keep fighting and opened up about their exchange with reporters after the event. “I had the man weak in the knees, I guess,” Holloway joked before shifting to a more serious note. “All jokes aside, I just hope he’s good. I know Conor’s been battling some stuff. He seemed to be changing a lot. He found God, he had his kids in there, so you could tell his demeanor shifted during the fight. Kudos to the referee; I tried to tell him sooner.”
Holloway recalled noticing McGregor’s children in the front row and said he didn’t want to see his opponent take unnecessary damage. He explained that he hoped the fight wouldn’t be stopped prematurely, but added, “This guy’s kids are front row, I don’t want to see him take unnecessary damage, try and stop the fight, but this is how crazy Conor is: The first time he’s on the ground, I was punching him and he’s like, ‘Fight! Fight!’ I was like, ‘OK.’ That’s why I backed up, I said, ‘Stand up then, let’s fight.’ He fell back down and then the fight was called.”
In the weeks leading up to the event, McGregor had given dozens of interviews claiming he’d transformed himself—embracing religion and rededicating himself to training after years of controversial public behavior and legal troubles. Holloway acknowledged McGregor’s newfound approach to fight promotion but admitted something felt off about the former two-division champion’s demeanor.
“Even with him walking into the octagon, it didn’t seem like the same Conor,” Holloway said. “He was still there to fight, but I expected him to be a little more rowdy, a little more crazy. He looked, like, really, really calm, almost super calm, so I was thinking, ‘Let’s see how this goes.’ Of course, I knew he’d come at me with something, and it was that kick, so it stinks.”
Holloway used his post-fight microphone time to float the idea of a trilogy bout with McGregor, though the timeline remains unclear given the severity of McGregor’s injury. One certainty Holloway expressed is that he doesn’t expect to compete again in 2026.
“He was talking about this ‘170 domain,’” Holloway said, referencing their welterweight encounter. “I put in this 170 work. We worked our asses off here, especially after turning around so fast after that March fight, and coming back. I want better SEO for my brand, and I’ve been focused on delivering, but the reality is that I’m not looking at a busy 2026 schedule just yet.”