"Ridiculous" - Conor McGregor reveals exact timeline of his next fight after Max Holloway rematch at UFC 329

Conor McGregor has expounded upon the exact timeline of his fight that will follow his upcoming matchup against Max Holloway. 

As of this time, McGregor is booked to fight former UFC featherweight champion and former BMF champion Holloway in a rematch. They'll clash in a five-round welterweight showdown, which would serve as the headliner of the UFC 329 event in Las Vegas on July 11. 

McGregor bested "Blessed" via unanimous decision in their first encounter, which saw them clash in a featherweight matchup back in 2013. 

Conor McGregor outlines the timeline of his next fight after Max Holloway rematch at UFC 329

Conor McGregor last competed in a professional combat sports contest in July of 2021, sustaining a mid-fight leg break and losing via TKO to Dustin Poirier in a lightweight MMA match that headlined UFC 264. 

The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion had a long road to recovery. He was eventually booked to fight perennial UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler in a welterweight matchup at UFC 303 in June 2024. Regardless, a toe injury sidelined McGregor from it. 

Well, in the aftermath of last week's UFC Freedom 250 event, McGregor appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and spoke to veteran journalist Ariel Helwani. The UFC icon explained that he has two fights left on his UFC contract and is quite surprised by how far away his second, and last fight, on his contract is booked. 

McGregor stated, "Right now, I am contracted. And I have both dates. I have both dates for my fight. I have July 11th. When would you think they (UFC) would put me back in?" 

Helwani implied that he couldn't guess when the UFC would book McGregor to fight again after the Holloway rematch. McGregor then chimed in and asserted, "April 2027."

McGregor added, "It's almost a year later. That's ridiculous to me. I think. No?" Helwani then questioned why his next matchup has been locked in already, to which the Irishman replied, "Because this is -- this is the way the contract was done." 

Additionally, Helwani indicated that he'd never heard of such a contract being made, and McGregor appeared to concur. The Irishman said, "I know. I have my second date. April 2027." 

McGregor indicated that his manager and longtime business associate, Audie Attar, would be able to better answer the contractual questions in regard to why his next fight has been scheduled to transpire several months after his upcoming matchup. 

"The Notorious" one suggested that his contract negotiations with the UFC reached a point where he simply wanted to get the contract signed and compete inside the octagon.

McGregor emphasized, however, that he doesn't intend to dwell on the contractual discussions and is excited about his much-awaited return to the octagon. 

Conor McGregor is open to fighting anybody and would like to compete more often

Ariel Helwani questioned whether Conor McGregor currently has just two fights left on his UFC deal. The MMA legend replied, "Yep."

When asked if the UFC tried to extend his deal, the striking savant said, "No." Upon being asked if that surprised him, McGregor affirmed that he's happy, also signaling that he and the UFC met midway to finalize a fair compensation for his comeback fight. 

Furthermore, around the 33:33-minute mark of the video displayed below, McGregor was asked whether the opponent for his April 2027 fight has also been finalized. He responded by pointing out that he'd asked to fight Michael Chandler but added that it doesn't matter who his opponent is.

"Mystic Mac" also underlined that he'd like to fight again this December, whilst also hinting that -- with 52 weeks in a year -- he'd aim to fight every week. He noted:

"I don't care who the opponent is... Give me the end of the year -- July, end of year. Boom. Let's go to a new deal." 

 

Check out Conor McGregor's conversation regarding his upcoming fights below (*comments at the 7:07-minute mark of the video):