Georges St-Pierre has given his thoughts on Conor McGregor’s upcoming five-round welterweight clash with Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
St-Pierre, a UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion, said he hopes McGregor is properly preparing for his return after a five-year layoff from MMA that followed a serious leg injury in his July 2021 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.
"You need to make sure when you prepare yourself that you recreate that environment and that level of discomfort that you will face," St-Pierre said, emphasizing the importance of pushing beyond comfort in training. "If you stay in your comfort zone during your training camp, it's not good. You need to make sure you bring guys that make you uncomfortable. I'm not only talking about skills and sparring. Sometimes it's good to bring guys that you've never trained with, and you have the butterflies, and you don't know how they move. 'They're dirty, and they're going to try to hurt me.' It's important."
St-Pierre believes McGregor is taking on a difficult matchup in former UFC and BMF champion Holloway, but sees the stakes as fitting for the former two-division titleholder. "He comes back for big things, and he doesn't come back for small things," St-Pierre said. "It's appropriate. Of course, if I was in Conor's camp I would say, 'Strap in because it's a hell of a fight.' But he can do it. It's going to be interesting."
Reflecting on McGregor’s return, St-Pierre added, "It would break my heart to see him come back and not be as good as he was or close to what he was. That's heartbreaking."
