UFC star Conor McGregor has been quiet by his standards since his return to the Octagon was announced, but Dana White said he’s “extremely confident” the fight is happening and is pleased that the Irishman has been reserved.
All eyes have been on the UFC and the White House ahead of Sunday’s unprecedented Freedom 250 card on the South Lawn. But after that event, the TKO Group property will have to quickly pivot to the return of its biggest commercial star and his first fight since 2021. The next numbered event after Freedom 250 is UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where McGregor will face Max Holloway in a non-title welterweight matchup as the main event.
UFC confirmed the fight about a month ago, and White has said that the event could break the property’s own record for highest gate. Asked how confident he was that the fight would proceed, White replied: “Yes, extremely confident. I thought [McGregor] was going to fight last year. I was very confident that was going to happen, but it’s definitely happening [this time]. Tickets went on sale, we’re coming down to crunch time ... and once [Freedom 250] is over, it’s all about Conor.”
The N.Y. Times reported Thursday that McGregor had taken performance-enhancing drugs when he wasn’t in the UFC’s testing pool while recovering from the broken leg he suffered while fighting Dustin Poirier in 2021. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell said McGregor was “in full compliance with the rules of our comprehensive drug program.”
McGregor has been active on social media since his return was announced, but his posts have been light compared to some of his past rants. He’s not expected to attend this weekend’s White House show.
White told SBJ that he likes that McGregor has been quiet. “That’s a great thing -- that means he’s in there, he’s grinding, he’s looking down the barrel, [that] this is real, he’s fighting Max Holloway,” White said. “This is a badass fight, so I like that he’s quiet, it means that he’s taking it serious and doing what he’s supposed to be doing.”
UFC 329 will take place during the property’s annual International Fight Week festivities. Another one of White’s fighting properties, Power Slap, will host an event at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan the night before on July 10.
After putting tickets on sale for UFC 329, White said Power Slap tickets sold out so quickly that his team rearranged the seating charts to add more seats. “They sold out immediately, so we said, ‘Holy shit,’ so we went in and moved some things around, added 200 more tickets — [those] sold out in 15 minutes,“ he said. ”It’s going to be a fun week.”
