Conor McGregor headlines UFC 329 tonight as he makes a dramatic return to the cage after a five-year absence. The former two-weight world champion last fought in 2021, breaking his leg in a first-round defeat to Dustin Poirier. He faces Max Holloway, who steps up to welterweight for the first time, 13 years after losing to McGregor at featherweight.
Main Card Highlights
The main event sees McGregor vs Holloway at 4:15am BST. McGregor, who turns 38 three days after the fight, was due to return against Michael Chandler two years ago but pulled out due to injury. Holloway, 34, has impressed since moving to lightweight, with a knockout win over Justin Gaethje and a points victory over Poirier, but was outclassed by Charles Oliveira in March.
The co-main event at 3:30am features Paddy Pimblett vs Benoit Saint-Denis. Pimblett suffered his first UFC loss to Gaethje in January for the interim lightweight title; a win would have earned him a shot at Ilia Topuria. Saint-Denis, after losses to Poirier and Renato Moicano, has stopped Kyle Prepolec, Maurício Ruffy, Beneil Dariush, and Dan Hooker.
At 3:00am, Cory Sandhagen returns after nearly a year against Mario Bautista. Sandhagen was outclassed by Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title at UFC 320. Bautista has lost only once in his last 10 fights, coming off a submission win over Vinicius Oliveira. Sandhagen won their 2019 meeting.
Britain's Lone'er Kavanagh fights Brandon Royval at 2:30am. Kavanagh, 27, rose quickly after wins over Jose Ochoa and Felipe dos Santos, but suffered a knockout loss to Charles Johnson. He then stepped up on short notice against former champion Brandon Moreno and outclassed him over five rounds. Royval, a former flyweight title challenger, aims to put Kavanagh back in his place.
Opening the main card at 2:00am, King Green vs Terrance McKinney. McKinney has never gone to the judges, knocking out Kyle Nelson in 24 seconds last time. Green, 39, rides a three-fight winning streak over Lance Gibson Jr, Daniel Zellhuber, and Jeremy Stephens.
Prelims and Early Prelims
Prelims start at 1:30am with Robert Whittaker's light-heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov. Whittaker, former middleweight champion, moves up after back-to-back losses to Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder. Krylov beat Modestas Bukauskas last time out.
At 1:00am, Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Stevenson makes his UFC debut against Elisha Ellison. Stevenson, 26, scored three quick KOs in his first three fights and is a protege of Jon Jones.
At 12:30am, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt faces Adrian Yanez. Garbrandt has had an up-and-down career since losing the title in 2017, coming off a win over Xiao Long. Yanez ended a two-year hiatus in March with a draw against Ricky Simon.
At 12:00am, Paddy Pimblett's teammate Luke Riley puts his undefeated record on the line against Kai Kamaka III. Riley scored a knockout on his debut against Bogdan Grad and followed with a win over Michael Aswell Jr.
Early prelims begin at 11:40pm with Tracy Cortez vs Wang Cong. Cortez has lost two of her last three, choked out by Erin Blanchfield. Cong is unbeaten in three fights.
At 11:15pm, kickboxing legend Cesar Almeida, 3-2 in the UFC, faces knockout artist Damian Pinas, who earned his spot via the Contender Series.
At 10:50pm, London's Farid Basharat puts his undefeated record on the line against UFC debutant John Garza. Basharat nearly lost his last fight in a split decision against Jean Matsumoto.
At 10:25pm, Zachary Reese fights Ryan Gandra in a middleweight match-up. Reese lost to Michel Pereira in February; Gandra has only one career loss.
Closing the early prelims at 10:00pm, Alessandro Costa steps in for injured Ode Osbourne to face Cody Durden. Costa has back-to-back wins over Stewart Nicoll and Matt Schnell.
How to Watch
Watch UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office via HBO Max, EE TV, Virgin Media TV, Prime Video, and Sky. For more information go to tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice.
