Max Holloway enters UFC 329 as the betting favorite against Conor McGregor on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, bringing a 27-9 record and one of the most decorated careers in featherweight history to his first professional fight at welterweight.
Holloway holds UFC all-time records for most significant strikes landed at 3,655 and most total strikes at 3,907 — marks no active fighter is close to. His style is built on volume and pace, pressuring opponents with a high output across five rounds without fading. That engine carried him through his UFC featherweight championship reign and later the BMF title.
His recent form is more complicated. Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje to win the BMF belt at UFC 300, then defended it against Dustin Poirier in Poirier’s retirement fight at UFC 318. In March 2026, he dropped a unanimous decision to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326, losing the BMF title and setting up this welterweight move against McGregor.
Moving to 170 pounds raises genuine questions. Holloway has competed at 145 and 155 pounds throughout his career and is now stepping into the cage against a naturally bigger man. Whether his pressure, footwork, and volume hold up two weight classes above where he built his name is the central uncertainty heading into Saturday.
The personal history between the two adds further context. McGregor defeated Holloway by unanimous decision in their 2013 meeting as both were still building their careers. Thirteen years later, Holloway gets his revenge opportunity as the favorite, with McGregor fighting for the first time since 2021.
