Five years away. Sixty-nine seconds back. Now Conor McGregor has another comeback to make.
McGregor’s long-awaited return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 ended almost immediately when his right knee gave way after an opening jumping kick. He has since undergone surgery to repair ACL and meniscus damage, but the Irishman insists he isn’t finished yet. His target is a UFC return in summer 2027.
There is no official Conor McGregor next fight at the moment. No contract has been announced, no date has been confirmed and the UFC has not named his next opponent.
There is, however, one fight McGregor clearly wants.
Max Holloway. One more time.
For a detailed look at how his latest comeback went wrong, read our guide to what happened to Conor McGregor at UFC 329.
When Is Conor McGregor’s Next Fight?
Conor McGregor does not currently have a confirmed next fight.
The earliest realistic window appears to be summer 2027, provided his recovery stays on schedule.
McGregor underwent successful surgery in early August after damaging the ACL and meniscus in his right knee. He subsequently said he hoped to return by next summer and complete the remaining fight on his current UFC contract. UFC CEO Dana White has offered a similar, if slightly more cautious, timeline, saying McGregor is effectively out for a year.
That makes anything earlier than mid-2027 difficult to take seriously right now.
McGregor himself has already pointed towards International Fight Week 2027 as the sort of stage he wants for his comeback. That would also fit with the recovery timeline following ACL surgery.
For now, though, it remains a target rather than a booking.
Will Conor McGregor Fight Again?
Everything McGregor has said suggests yes.
His immediate reaction to the UFC 329 injury wasn’t to talk about retirement. It was to talk about surgery, rehabilitation and fulfilling the final bout of his UFC deal.
After the operation, that message didn’t change.
McGregor confirmed that the surgery had been successful and described himself as being back on the road to recovery. Reuters reported that he hopes to return to the Octagon by next summer.
That doesn’t guarantee it happens.
McGregor will be 39 during the summer of 2027, and there is a huge difference between wanting to return and being medically ready to fight at UFC level.
Still, the situation is different from the years of vague comeback talk that followed his broken leg against Dustin Poirier.
There is now a fairly simple goal in front of him.
Recover the knee. Get cleared. Fight once more.
What Injury Does Conor McGregor Have?
McGregor damaged both the ACL and meniscus in his right knee during his UFC 329 rematch with Max Holloway on 11 July 2026.
The injury happened almost straight away.
McGregor opened with a jumping kick, landed awkwardly and immediately struggled to put weight through the leg. He tried to continue for a few seconds before signalling that something was wrong. The fight ended after just 1 minute and 9 seconds, with Holloway officially awarded a first-round TKO victory.
It was an extraordinary bit of bad luck given their history.
When McGregor first fought Holloway in 2013, he tore the ACL in his left knee but managed to complete the fight and win by unanimous decision.
Thirteen years later, the opposite knee failed in the rematch.
We’ve gone much deeper into the injury itself, the leg involved and his previous injury history in our UFC 329 McGregor injury explainer.
When Could Conor McGregor Return to the UFC?
Summer 2027 is the target.
It also feels far more sensible than trying to attach an exact month to his comeback this early.
ACL recovery isn’t something a promoter can simply schedule around. McGregor first has to restore movement and strength, return to MMA training, begin wrestling and kicking again, then get through an actual fight camp.
White’s public assessment that McGregor will be out for roughly a year puts the UFC’s thinking in broadly the same place as McGregor’s own timetable.
There was originally supposed to be a much quicker turnaround.
Before UFC 329, McGregor revealed that he had two fights remaining on his UFC contract and had spoken about fighting again in April 2027. The knee injury has changed that plan completely. UFC 329 used one of those remaining bouts, leaving him with one contracted fight still to complete.
The April date is effectively gone.
Summer is now the one to watch.
Will Conor McGregor Fight Max Holloway Again?
If McGregor gets his way, yes.
A Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway trilogy is easily the most obvious option for his next fight.
McGregor called for another meeting after UFC 329, pitching it as a final chapter between the pair in 2027. Holloway had already shown interest immediately after the injury stoppage, telling the UFC he wanted to run the fight back once McGregor recovered.
There is a proper story behind it too.
McGregor beat Holloway by unanimous decision when they first met in Boston in August 2013. Holloway was only 21 at the time and went on to become one of the greatest featherweights in UFC history.
The rematch took another 13 years.
Unfortunately, it told us almost nothing about who would win an actual fight between the modern versions of McGregor and Holloway. McGregor’s knee was compromised almost immediately and the contest was stopped before either man had settled into it.
That leaves the rivalry at one win apiece on paper.
McGregor won the first fight properly.
Holloway officially won the second, but through an injury stoppage after 69 seconds.
From a promotional point of view, the trilogy sells itself.
Our original UFC 329 McGregor vs Holloway 2 preview covers how the two fighters arrived at the rematch and what had changed since 2013.
Is McGregor vs Holloway 3 Confirmed?
No.
That distinction matters.
McGregor wants the fight. Holloway has expressed interest. There is an obvious storyline and a realistic time window.
None of that means contracts have been signed.
The UFC hasn’t announced McGregor vs Holloway 3, and no venue or date has been confirmed.
It is therefore better to treat Holloway as the current frontrunner rather than McGregor’s official next opponent.
A lot can happen before summer 2027.
Holloway may fight again. The UFC could prefer another matchup. McGregor’s recovery could take longer than expected.
Until the promotion announces something, it stays in the possible column.
Could Michael Chandler Finally Fight Conor McGregor?
It is difficult to completely remove Michael Chandler from any conversation about McGregor.
The two coached against each other on The Ultimate Fighter and were booked to headline UFC 303 in June 2024. McGregor then broke a toe in training and withdrew from the event.
For a long time afterwards, Chandler looked like the obvious opponent whenever McGregor returned.
That changed in 2026.
The UFC eventually booked Holloway instead, and now the trilogy is the fight McGregor is publicly pursuing. Holloway therefore makes considerably more sense today.
Could Chandler come back into the picture if plans change? Of course.
But calling him the likely next opponent at this stage would be a stretch.
How Many Fights Does Conor McGregor Have Left on His UFC Contract?
McGregor is understood to have one fight remaining on his current UFC deal.
Before facing Holloway at UFC 329, McGregor said there were two bouts left on the agreement. The Holloway fight fulfilled one of them. Since suffering the knee injury, both McGregor and reports around his recovery have referred to his eventual comeback as the final fight of the existing contract.
That adds another layer to whatever comes next.
If McGregor returns in 2027 and completes that bout, his future becomes much less predictable.
He could sign a new UFC deal.
He could decide that one final Octagon appearance is enough.
Or he could look elsewhere.
Could Conor McGregor Fight in BKFC?
This is where things get interesting after the UFC contract expires.
McGregor is already involved with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship as a co-owner and has repeatedly discussed the possibility of competing there once his UFC commitments are complete.
BKFC president David Feldman has also spoken publicly about wanting McGregor to eventually fight for the promotion.
That doesn’t make a BKFC debut official.
For now, his focus is recovering and getting back into the UFC.
His involvement outside the Octagon isn’t disappearing, though. McGregor is also attached to BKFC’s planned World’s Baddest Man tournament project for 2027.
So the next UFC fight could genuinely be a crossroads.
Finish the contract and the options open up considerably.
What Weight Will Conor McGregor Fight At?
Welterweight looks the most likely answer if he faces Holloway again.
McGregor returned at 170lb for UFC 329 and had already described himself as a welterweight before the event.
At this stage of his career, going all the way back to featherweight is obviously unrealistic, while another aggressive cut to lightweight may not make much sense either.
A Holloway trilogy at welterweight would also keep the conditions consistent with the second fight.
That said, nothing has been confirmed.
If the opponent changes, the weight could change with it.
Our guide to UFC weight classes explains the limits from flyweight all the way through to heavyweight.
When Did Conor McGregor Last Win a UFC Fight?
This is the uncomfortable part of the comeback story.
McGregor’s last UFC win came against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020.
He stopped Cerrone in just 40 seconds.
Since then, McGregor has lost three fights in a row.
Dustin Poirier stopped him in the second round at UFC 257. Their trilogy fight later that year ended when McGregor broke his leg. Then came the 69-second injury loss to Holloway at UFC 329. His professional MMA record now stands at 22 wins and seven defeats.
That means any 2027 return would come more than seven years after his most recent victory.
For all the attention McGregor still commands, that matters.
This isn’t the version of McGregor who was tearing through the featherweight division, knocking out José Aldo and becoming the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight champion.
The question now is much more basic.
Can he still win at this level?
Can McGregor Still Compete at UFC Level?
UFC 329 unfortunately didn’t give us much evidence either way.
That is part of why a Holloway trilogy remains intriguing.
McGregor had spent five years away. There were questions about his reactions, cardio, timing and ability to deal with a fighter as active as Holloway.
Then his knee went almost immediately.
We learned virtually nothing.
By the time McGregor returns again, age will become an even bigger part of the conversation. He turns 39 in July 2027. Holloway will still be several years younger and has remained far more active.
On the other hand, McGregor doesn’t need to become a title contender for another fight to make sense.
A final UFC appearance against another established name is a completely different proposition from asking him to make a serious run through the welterweight rankings.
For the current picture across every division, see our latest UFC rankings for 2026.
Will Conor McGregor Retire After His Next Fight?
Possibly, but McGregor has not announced his retirement.
His talk of a final contract fight has created an understandable assumption that his next UFC appearance will also be his last MMA fight.
Those are not necessarily the same thing.
It would be the final bout on his current UFC contract. What comes after that is another question entirely.
McGregor could retire. He could negotiate again with the UFC. He could box. He could pursue the BKFC idea that has followed him for several years.
At 39, almost everything will depend on how the knee recovers and how he feels after another full training camp.
Right now, the only thing that seems reasonably clear is that McGregor wants at least one more.
So, What Is Conor McGregor’s Next Fight?
There isn’t one yet.
The most likely scenario is a UFC return in summer 2027, with Max Holloway III currently the obvious fight to watch.
McGregor has asked for it. Holloway has shown interest. Their rivalry is tied at one official win each, and the second fight ended before it really began.
It would also give McGregor the sort of occasion he appears to want for the final fight of his current UFC contract.
But there are two hurdles before any of that matters.
First, his knee has to heal.
Then the UFC has to actually book it.
Until both happen, talk of exact dates, venues or betting odds is premature.
After waiting five years for McGregor’s last comeback, UFC fans probably know better than most that nothing is official until he walks into the Octagon.
We’ll keep this page updated as his recovery progresses and any opponent or return date is confirmed.
In the meantime, check our next UFC event guide for the latest cards and UK start times, or head to the BetVictor UFC and MMA news hub for more previews, rankings and fighter updates.
