Conor McGregor is turning up the heat on an old rival as he prepares to headline UFC 329 against Max Holloway on July 11, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor, who lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, has again dismissed the former champion’s body of work and revisited the circumstances of their first meeting. “The guy done nothing in the sport,” McGregor said while breaking down Nurmagomedov’s run.
“13 fights he’s had in the company, that’s it and three against named opponents. He had a fight against me, I was off the yacht. I was doing bad things on the yacht. I was partying heavily, and I was up to my eyeballs in court cases and all of this. I hadn’t fought in two years. I was worth $200 million and I come back and fight this f*cking guy. I done four rounds with him. I had a broken toe. I’m sure you seen the Netflix show where I broke my f*cking foot three weeks before the bout. This guy’s nothing.”
Nurmagomedov retired in late 2020 with a 29-0 record, but McGregor continued to question that undefeated résumé. “[Khabib] never fought, missed weight, never fought above weight divisions,” he said.
“Three fights, no stoppages, no knockouts. Come on, how many more knockouts has he got, three or four? You must be mad. His first half of his work was fighting in his father’s shows in the middle of nowhere, wherever they’re from. He’s like 12-0, the opponent he’s fighting is 0-0. This isn’t boxing. I don’t rate him.”
McGregor has previously pointed to inactivity, partying, legal issues, and injuries when discussing the UFC 229 loss as he now shifts focus to his five-round clash with Holloway at UFC 329.
