Ariel Helwani confirms Conor McGregor return as date and opponent named

Ariel Helwani has revealed the UFC plans for Conor McGregor, with an opponent and date set for this summer.

It's been nearly five years since former two-weight champion McGregor last stepped into the octagon for his TKO loss to rival Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

Since then the 37-year-old has been heavily rumoured to make his return to the octagon on several occasions, only for the deals to reportedly fall through.

The closest we have been to seeing McGregor return came in June 2024 when the Irishman pulled out of a bout with Ultimate Fighter rival Michael Chandler after he injured his toe.

But now, it appears that McGregor may finally make his return to the UFC as top MMA journalist Helwani has revealed exactly when he can expect to see him fight next, and who he will be facing.

According to Helwani, it is the UFC’s plan McGregor vs. Max Holloway to headline UFC 329 on July 11th as part of the famous international fight week card.

A rematch with Holloway, who McGregor beat early in the American's career back in 2013, was believed to be on the cards ahead of the former BMF champion's title defence against Charles Oliveira in March.

It was widely reported that McGregor would face the winner of the fight for the BMF title, however, after Oliveira dominated Holloway on the ground, the UFC's plans became unclear.

But, it now appears that the UFC are intending to go ahead with the plans to see McGregor and Holloway face off again in a fight that promises to be a war on the feet.

Who else is set to feature on Conor McGregor's comeback card?

With McGregor's return reportedly set to take place during international fight week, several other big names in the UFC are believed to be a part of the card, including Liverpool's Paddy Pimblett.

According to Helwani, Pimblett is set to make his return following his interim lightweight title shot loss to Justin Gaethje in a fight against fellow top contendor Benoit Saint-Denis.

Saint-Denis is coming off the back of four consecutive finish victories, with his latest being a TKO win over Dan Hooker in February.

Elsewhere on the card, Cory Sandhagen is rumoured to be fighting Mario Bautista with American Olympic gold wrestler Gable Steveson set to make his highly-anticipated UFC debut having signed with the organisation in April.