- 6 weeks ago
Conor 'The Notorious' McGregor on his UFC return against Max Holloway
08/07/2026
UFC McGregor - Holloway 2
08/07/2026
UFC McGregor - Holloway 2
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SportsTranscript
00:00here comes connor welcome back to a ufc media day and a fight week five years away from it
00:14how good is it to be back feet on the ground in las vegas and be here for a fight
00:18week
00:18hallelujah the mack is back can i get a mack energy please tristan thank you so much hallelujah
00:25baby thank god a beautiful day here in las vegas this is the day the lord has made and i
00:32will be
00:33glad and rejoice in it it's great to be back weights on point bodies on point mind sharper than
00:41ever plan is laid set am i ready to go to war it feels like a mcgregor fight week but
00:48there was
00:48something new for this one you have called yourself a belt many times in the past and this week you
00:53finally got custom mcgregor belts what was it like seeing those in person getting to throw them
00:58both over your shoulder special special to my heart i thank the ultimate fighting championship for the
01:03respect and i love it i'm going to go in and represent i'm going to go in and represent the
01:11company and the mcgregor name to the best of my ability awesome you have said repeatedly throughout
01:20this build-up that you are going to sun max for the second time curious what you mean by that
01:25what
01:25does sunning him look like in this fight this rematch you know i plan to contort max's body
01:31in such uncomfortable positions and have my way with him that's it is he the perfect guy for you
01:41to come back and rematch and fight for this this return fight does he feel like the perfect person
01:46to stake your claim is i am back and i'm ready to compete at the highest level once again
01:54max is a great dance partner if you will a great opponent he's a deep body of work inside the
02:02octagon
02:02fought many a man
02:05it's a great opponent great event great fight week great international fight week i'm very very happy
02:12here connor i'm very thankful connor money for you is like taking sand to a beach it's not a problem
02:20right but with this fight all these fighters beforehand today are all tipping max not this little man over
02:28here he thinks you're an absolute moral what do you say you know nothing better than proving people
02:36wrong people are entitled to their opinion some are valid you know there's there's some questions
02:42timeout injury lifestyle yada yada yada i know i know and your boy knows they're fair play to him
02:50and there you go let's go we're gonna go in saturday night and shut them all up again you know
02:57the business is on the rise the money is coming in
03:05so get into this game baby while rocking and rolling the mic is back
03:10got her back here um throughout your early part of your ufc run and even 2016 was such a magical
03:18year
03:18not just for you but the sport but you disrupted so much back then and now you return five years
03:24later
03:24with the opportunity to disrupt everything again in multiple divisions do you feel that right now like
03:29do you feel sort of that magic almost like a shake up the game shake up the business for sure
03:37prove myself to myself i am who i say i am i am that i am i want to ask
03:46you one more question because
03:47you've been talking a lot about finding religion and and and putting yourself in this spiritual place
03:53and normally it takes like a certain moment for for that reflection to happen to kind of turn things
03:59around do you remember the moment where you felt like this is the need like you had to get to
04:05the
04:05knees and and and rejoice and and and find that within yourself do you remember that that moment where
04:12you kind of turned it all over you know it's a you gotta do deep internal work it's not just
04:20like
04:20it's many moments even if you will it's not just one it's a whole
04:26sequence of events and almost divine coincidences that just cannot be anything but
04:34the higher power and i connected to it i am not my body i am not my feelings i am
04:45not my thoughts
04:46i am my soul and my soul is connected to the highest power
04:54connor is that the old famous fuck you suit or is this a new version that we're wearing today
04:58this is this is the similar style to it i was only saying we broke the internet back then with
05:05that
05:05one this is this isn't the fuck you but it's a different one it's a it is the suit but
05:11it's
05:12titled with one x bet there's a partner of mine so you know we showed them love they support the
05:18mac in
05:18the camp and i'm grateful for all the support from my business associates and my team and then my fans
05:27i'm
05:27grateful beyond measure for my fans and their loyalty and their excitement here and as much
05:36as i'm back for the love of the game i am back for the love of the fans connor how
05:42how how do you feel
05:44to be back at las vegas how can what can you tell us about the city and what can you
05:49tell us about
05:50coming back in your second home the t-mobile arena thank you yeah thank you my man it's good to
05:56be home
05:56good to be home an amazing arena here in las vegas the fight capital of the world i look forward
06:02to
06:04opening up this market for my bare knuckle fighting championship company which will be an outstanding
06:08event imagine bare knuckle fighting championship in las vegas we're very excited with that those
06:14conversations are ongoing and you know i'm always happy to come back here to las vegas
06:19i have property here i bought a house here many years ago and you know i got the kids out
06:23and family
06:24and we love it here it's great to be back thank you so much hello champ corner many say you
06:32that no
06:33longer have the fire or the hungry you had before what do you say to those things you are done
06:41you know
06:43if i didn't have the fire or the hunger yet i'm up against one of the most active bodies in
06:50the fight
06:50game in max holloway but you know i just think it's silly to say this you know the challenge
06:58is colossal it is a colossal challenge ahead of me that i am entering with supreme confidence
07:05it's it's it's magnificent the fire is in my belly roaring and is about to be released
07:13on saturday night i've practiced abstaining also on this campus the first time i've ever done it
07:19from any type of physical touch if you will and that's been intense i'm excited to see what it brings
07:26on saturday night i'm gonna have a good night saturday all across the board thank you john connor
07:33connor you mentioned you you have been gone sorry over here to your left you mentioned you have been
07:36gone for a while but the cultural relevance remains guys in the world cup are still doing
07:40the strut i mean do you pay attention when guys are still doing things to to pay tribute to you
07:45and
07:45honor you and what does that mean to you that you've had this cultural relevance so it's always great
07:49it's always great when we have a little a little one a little fresh one on saturday night
07:54you know we're gonna have fun with it so the game is it's a fun business ruthless business but a
08:00fun
08:00business you know focus on enjoying the process and you know let's go pop culture and sport culture
08:09and it's always great have the eyes of the world on our work and that's it i'm thankful you mentioned
08:16you understand that people could have doubts about you do you have you had doubts about yourself during
08:21this process no none you know i outwork doubt that's it you doubt will only build and you do not
08:32put the
08:33work in so i make sure and put the work in our preparation for this battle has been very very
08:39meticulous we have been very you know if you will secretive nothing has really come out
08:45on approach or on styles there's a full-fledged mixed martial artist stepping inside that octagon
08:54on saturday night and i'm excited to show it last one for me you very famously apologized to absolutely
08:58nobody uh in your career do you have doubts or do you have regrets excuse me about like anything that's
09:04happened in your career or anything that you've done along the way you know i'm thankful for the lessons i've
09:09learned and my job is to honor the position god has put me in and you're not disrespected and that's
09:22where i'm at i'm thankful for the lessons i have learned and on i go connor when i saw you
09:28uh in
09:29saudi arabia a couple years ago at the tyson fury francis and ghani fight you were pretty frustrated and said
09:34you're being kept from your living to be back here now like sitting on that stage just days away
09:39um are you can any part of you be grateful to get those extra two years or like how do
09:44you feel
09:45sitting up there right now i don't want to get into this therapy vibe it's a few tough years it
09:51has
09:51been a few tough years thank you for reminding me because that's not to give me a nice feeling of
09:55yes i'm here i am here now it's been a tough one you know but god works
10:03in mysterious ways it is all as it should so maybe it just wasn't meant to be at that time
10:12and i'm happy how it has come about looking back and looking at how my preparation has gone
10:18i'm thankful how it's gone i'm well ready here you know if you think about it i've spent a few
10:24some time preparing for the stocky the stocky boxer wrestler
10:30the athletic wrestler in chandler and then i you know you go to a longer rangy more volume
10:37striker and max so i had to be very i had to be very proper in my preparation you know
10:44i couldn't
10:44take that for granted you have to you're switching a completely different stylistic uh opponent so you
10:51know i put the work in and the time has worked i'm happy and thankful for for how it has
10:56worked out
10:56max has said um you know that citing your quote that it's not a win unless you finish the fight
11:02and that you're i guess oh and oh going into that do you believe that you have a true win
11:06over this man are you looking at it listen i put my big paws and i put my big orange
11:10paws in his face
11:11i saw the boy and you know i faced a devastating injury you know a career ending injury happened to
11:18me in that bout that changed my entire uh approach to fighting with the acl tear and the meniscus tear
11:25it was the first time i'd ever experienced something like that so uh you know listen
11:31i beat him and i'm gonna beat him again on saturday night for sure just last for me uh a
11:37hundred numbered
11:37ufc events before this was ufc 229 the biggest fight we've had in the history of the sport with you
11:42and habib we're a hundred events forward now is this in a better place like how do you look at
11:47the
11:48sport now do you feel it's it can raise to that level again do you do you bring it to
11:52that level again
11:52the economics the finances of the company show last year what they got 1.4 billion in free cash
11:59floating around i hope there's something spectacular for the fans you know big or big performances i
12:07don't know there should be we should be doing something we should be shocking the world and
12:14exciting the world with our events here and i hope so and i believe it will be that that will
12:17be the
12:18case certainly inside the octagon i will do so i will do my part and uh you know yeah the
12:26court
12:26the business is booming my man 7.7 b in from paramount showed this and we're going live on cbs
12:33which i'm
12:33very thankful for the support of the paramount family there you go business is booming baby
12:40connor can you understand why some people feel you don't deserve this platform given the court case
12:47two years ago
12:50i'm an innocent man and i'll stand for my innocence until the day i go out and that is still
12:56a situation
12:56where i fight there's a reason it didn't go where it went and it went to a civil trial it
13:03is what it is
13:04it stings deep i continue to fight i know the truth and i know that lying lips are an abomination
13:13to
13:13the lord and i know that anything done in darkness will soon come to light and i trust in god
13:23that it's coming you best believe it's coming and i look very very forward to the day do you feel
13:30like
13:30you fell into the trap that so many fighters do with fame and money obviously obviously you know 2017
13:41double weight world champion floyd mayweather banked and then i launched an irish whiskey
13:49i didn't drink heavily if at all in that time of my life i was an athlete at the top
13:57of my game
13:58next thing you know there's thousands upon thousands of bottles in my garage sell this connor
14:05okay i'd leave my property and with two bottles under my arm and that was it i was caught
14:13you know i wasn't used with i thought and that's it god gave gave me these lessons that's it i
14:18was
14:18trapped and caught and it is what it is i trust in god i trust in my journey
14:25and i trust in the truth and if the world is against the truth then i am against the world
14:33that is where i stand connor some people say that one of the changes to the business is that you
14:40almost
14:40became too big you can exist outside of the ufc bubble and that now maybe they don't want to pay
14:46another star quite as much because then it might be harder to negotiate fights do you feel that's true
14:51do you feel like you had an impact because you were so successful and showed an example to the
14:56rest of the your colleagues as fighters you know i'll always campaign for the fighters getting their
15:00worth and i'm very happy with it we're getting it's it's a it's a steady rise if you ask max
15:07i'm sure
15:07it's probably five times his highest pay you know so the boys are getting there and i'm the boys and
15:14the girls are getting there and i will always campaign for that i'll always be happy that i have helped
15:19spearhead that you know as an owner of barenuckle fighting championship it kind of puts me in a in
15:23a pickle you know i always vouch for the fighters so but i also have a stake in the company
15:30so there
15:30has to be some sort of balance but still i'm a fighter at heart i know what it takes in
15:36this business and
15:36i know without the fighters there is none of this not an iota of it so i'm happy that the
15:45money is rising
15:45in the fight business and that we're thriving and i'm happy to be back and give it that extra little
15:52extra little fuel to its rocket and off it goes if you could be anonymous for one day go somewhere
15:59and nobody recognized you what would you do uh where would you go
16:08my man i don't know church i go to church and just praise god get on my knees and praise
16:14our lord
16:17he's given me it all and i'm forever on my knees in praise
16:24connor connor just engaged he said he'll be in attendance for your fight against max
16:31he also says he wants to punch you in the face what's your response to justin gaethje
16:37yeah join the queue join the queue there's a few you know yeah look he has the lightweight belt
16:45fair play to him
16:48holloway put him face down ass up though badly badly face down so you know i'm not even thinking
16:56of it at this time but i got down to lightweight again also is another thing i don't i'm not
17:01so sure
17:02i fancy
17:06the triple crown i fancy the triple crown so less of the disrespect you bum
17:15now max holloway has also been training with jdm in who's a walterweight himself what are your thoughts
17:22on him choosing jdm as a training partner to emulate you
17:28that's not gonna cut it not bad choice why not i've seen the little pity pat mickey mouse club
17:37training it looks like a teen amateur it's not on the level it's not going to cut it for the
17:42ferocity
17:44that will be before him in the octagon as well as the array of weaponry so there you go both
17:51can
17:51get it connor connor connor you said that you're ready to face the best fighters so shavkat rachman
18:00of beat your fellow irishman ian gary considered as the most one of the most dangerous contenders in
18:05this division so if things go your way uh do you see the fight happening one day and what do
18:10you think
18:10of him as a fighter he has i know he had a heavy injury and he's building back from that
18:17so i'll leave
18:18him to it i don't really think anything of him at the minute he's got a lot of work to
18:22do he what has
18:25he got to offer me you know the title it would have you would have to acquire the title for
18:29me to even
18:30consider he's a he's not a bad fighter that's it connor what sort of conversations do you think
18:38people will be having on monday morning after your fight the mac is well and truly back and that's it
18:45the excitement is going to be off the charts on saturday night the performance is going to be off
18:48the charts i have some shot selection here and some set of movements that i plan for this bout and
18:57i'm
18:57excited to showcase it connor yeah you have some of the wildest build-ups pre-fight build-ups in ufc
19:04history but things seem pretty cordial between you and max after the time away is a calm build of what
19:10you need or do you prefer the chaos it's pretty chaotic all of it you know i i am calm
19:17i am centered
19:18for sure probably more than i've ever been and i'm very happy with that i'm very happy with the work
19:21i
19:22have put into myself with the people who have helped me i'm in a great space bring on the chaos
19:28baby i'm calm in the chaos comfortable in the uncomfortable thank you ladies and gentlemen this
19:36mac energy is sensational yeah this is going to blow this colossal yeah i'll give it to you donna
19:41this is going to blow this colossal industry wide open this energy drink category it's got loaded with
19:47ketones bhp ketones that i have patented you people go into a ketogenic state they they starve and fast
19:54themselves to get this what i've got in the can and no one no other energy drink can have this
19:59this
19:59baby is going to rocket ship to the moon try it and enjoy it right god bless you all donna
20:04go ahead
20:04sorry my man just a couple i just wanted to ask you does it upset like obviously uh i've seen
20:08we've
20:08we've seen a bit on social media like it's different in ireland now isn't it than it was you
20:13know in in the heyday does it upset you that that's the way that it is and do you feel
20:17like you
20:17you wanted to win back the irish people and really have it be like it was you know a decade
20:22ago i'm
20:23not here to win anyone back i'm here to represent my country what's what is taking place in ireland is
20:32the saddest story in the west it is a travesty what is taking place that our borders are wide open
20:39and that the most violent cultures are just hoisted upon our people in our rural towns and the crime
20:47that is taking place is showing it and if god wills it i'll do it not step in and that's
20:55it i hope so
20:55it is what it is the way people can feed into the propaganda or or the you know the lies
21:02that are
21:03pushed to the people it is what it is it's sad and it is a saddest story of the west
21:09in my opinion
21:09as ireland does not deserve this our history
21:17deserves a better future and i pray to our god that it is coming and uh also there was a
21:24story
21:24a couple of years ago i wanted to clear it up because you're finally on the card together you
21:27and patty pimblet what did actually happen that night in liverpool where supposedly you were at his
21:31house or something or nonsense is that so it didn't happen no thank you very much thank you
21:41god bless thank you so much all thank you
22:03so
22:10you
22:11You
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