Conor McGregor has taken aim at upcoming opponent Max Holloway and old rival Nate Diaz, as the Irishman prepares for his first UFC fight in five years.
During a UFC broadcast on Saturday, it was announced that McGregor will face Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 on 11 July, as the pair square off 13 years after their first fight.
In 2013, McGregor outpointed Holloway at featherweight, where each man went on to become a champion. McGregor later won lightweight gold, too, where Holloway held the “Baddest Motherf*****” belt, but they will clash at welterweight.
The fight at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena will be Holloway’s debut at 170lb, while McGregor has competed there three times – including twice against Diaz in 2016.
And the McGregor vs Holloway announcement was made just moments after Diaz fought on Saturday, as the American was stopped by Mike Perry at an event organised by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
Diaz, 41, sustained a nasty cut and was pulled from the welterweight bout after the second round, leading McGregor to tweet on Sunday: “I see why @NateDiaz209 didn’t take the fight lol. Anyway here’s to when I get my hands on you, you lanky streak of piss.”
There were briefly rumours that McGregor, 37, could fight Diaz this summer, before talk turned to a rematch with Holloway, whom McGregor also mocked on X.
Sharing a video posted by Holloway McGregor told the Hawaiian: “I’m gonna son you, child. Again.” McGregor then shared a photo from their first fight and wrote: “You’re gonna put respect on my motherf*****g name.”
One X account then suggested that McGregor had “signed himself up for a dangerous fight for his return”, stating that “fighting a volume striker like Max Holloway after a 5 year layoff is no easy task”. McGregor simply replied: “lol [laughing out loud].”
McGregor last fought in 2021, sustaining a broken leg in a second successive loss to Dustin Poirier. In their previous bout, McGregor suffered the first knockout defeat of his career.
McGregor also fought Poirier in 2014, winning by knockout, and the only other opponent that he has faced more than once is Diaz. McGregor was submitted by the Californian in March 2017, before winning their rematch on points five months later.
Therefore, Holloway will be the third opponent that McGregor has fought multiple times. The 34-year-old will enter UFC 329 on the back of a one-sided points loss to Charles Oliveira in March, when the Brazilian took the “Baddest Motherf*****” title from Holloway.
Meanwhile, Diaz called for a rematch with Perry after losing their fight, which streamed live on Netflix.
