Where is Conor McGregor Now? Irish Martial Artist to Make UFC Return Against Max Holloway After Serving 18-Month Doping Ban

Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited UFC return in Las Vegas on 11 July, when the Irish star is scheduled to face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 329 following an 18‑month anti‑doping ban. UFC president Dana White confirmed the lightweight–welterweight bout, which will headline the card at the T‑Mobile Arena.

Conor McGregor v Max Holloway is a match-up with deep roots in the modern history of mixed martial arts. McGregor, now 37, has not fought since shattering his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, a grim injury that halted a career already losing momentum.

The former two-weight UFC champion once defined the sport's boom years, while Holloway, the popular Hawaiian and former featherweight titleholder, lost to McGregor in 2013 when both men were still climbing the ladder.

McGregor's journey to this point has never been straightforward. The Dubliner surged into the UFC in 2013, with his left hand and quick wit turning post-fight interviews into viral moments and routine contests into global events.

In November 2016, he defeated Eddie Alvarez to add the lightweight belt to his featherweight title, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts simultaneously. That peak now feels like a distant era.

Fame brought scale and, with it, complication. In August 2017, McGregor boxed Floyd Mayweather Jr in a spectacle that generated tens of millions of dollars for the Irishman.

Many within the sport would argue it also marked the point at which his MMA career began to drift. Since defeating Alvarez in 2016, he has fought in the UFC only four times and lost three of those contests.

Anti‑Doping Ban Shadows McGregor Comeback

The latest attempt to reboot the Conor McGregor story comes after a spell on the sidelines that was not entirely voluntary. In October 2025, he accepted an 18-month suspension from Combat Sports Anti-Doping for 'whereabouts failures' after missing three attempts to collect biological samples in 2024. The sanction was backdated and expired in March, clearing the way for his licensing and the UFC 329 booking.

Whereabouts violations are not the same as a failed drug test, and there is no public record in this case of a positive sample. Even so, for a fighter whose physical transformation and sporadic schedule have long been the subject of fan speculation, the optics are awkward. The ban is a matter of record, nothing has been confirmed beyond the official explanation of missed tests.

That regulatory cloud forms just one layer of the picture. McGregor's public life has repeatedly spilled beyond the cage and the commissions. Later in 2025, a jury in an Irish civil court found him liable in a civil rape case brought by a woman over an incident alleged to have taken place in Dublin in 2018.

Civil findings carry a lower standard of proof than criminal convictions but still represent a serious legal judgment. McGregor has denied past misconduct allegations, in this case, any response from his representatives was not included in the report provided.

Holloway Offers Familiar, Risky Path Back

On the sporting front, the choice of Holloway as the comeback opponent is both nostalgic and ruthless. The pair first met in 2013, when McGregor won by unanimous decision after suffering a knee injury during the bout.

Holloway went on to become one of the most respected champions in UFC history, known for his relentless pace and durability, while McGregor chased belts, boxing cheques and, increasingly, rehabilitation.

The UFC had previously tried to stage McGregor's return against former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in June 2024. That plan unravelled when McGregor broke a toe in training, leading to another postponement and another round of questions about whether the sport had finally moved on without him.

Now, the new date against Holloway offers a clearer narrative line, the brash former double‑champion trying to reclaim relevance against a fighter he once beat, but who has spent the intervening decade fighting far more regularly.

White's announcement also contained a neat, if slightly macabre, symmetry. Should McGregor make the walk on 11 July, it will be five years and one day since he suffered the leg break against Poirier. For fans, that invites a harsh question. Are they watching a final chapter or a genuine second act?

The promoters, predictably, are banking on the latter. McGregor's name still looms large over the UFC, not just for his titles or his highlight‑reel knockouts but for the way he dragged MMA from the 'human cockfighting' slur once levelled by US senator John McCain into mainstream acceptance. Holloway brings his own loyal following and a reputation for crowd‑pleasing violence.

Whether that combination produces a sporting resurrection or simply another expensive spectacle will only be known when the octagon door shuts in Las Vegas, and McGregor finally returns to work against Holloway.