Early UFC 329 Betting Odds: Conor McGregor returns as heavy underdog in rematch against Max Holloway

Conor McGregor, the first UFC fighter to hold multiple belts simultaneously, is returning to the Octagon after a five-year hiatus.

McGregor (22-6) will face Max Holloway (27-9) in a non-title welterweight fight at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11.

Here’s what you need to know.

Holloway opened as a heavy -550 favourite to win on the UFC 329 odds, while McGregor is a +350 underdog.

UFC 329

McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, hasn’t competed in the promotion since suffering a TKO loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021. The Irishman suffered a broken leg when he took a step back in the final seconds of the first round.

This will be a rematch of McGregor’s second UFC fight in August 2013. He suffered a torn ACL in the fight, but still managed to earn three-round unanimous decision win over Holloway thanks to his superior wrestling. McGregor was originally scheduled to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024, but withdrew wth a toe injury.

It’s been a long time since McGregor was relevant in the UFC. After becoming the first simultaneous double champion in 2016, he boxed Floyd Mayweather in 2017 before returning to the UFC in 2018. He has lost three of four UFC fights since 2018, including back-to-back TKO losses against Poirier.

Holloway is also a former featherweight champion. Like McGregor, Holloway spent time going between the featherweight and lightweight divisions. The Honolulu native only managed one defence of the featherweight belt before losing three featherweight title bouts to Alexander Volkanovski and one to Ilia Topuria. Holloway last fought in a unanimous decision loss against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March.