- 2 hours 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
01:31into such uncomfortable positions and have my way with him that's it
01:39is he the perfect guy for you to come back and rematch and fight for this this return fight does
01:44he feel
01:44like the perfect person to stake your claim is i am back and i'm ready to compete at the highest
01:49level
01:49once again
01:54max is a great dance partner if you will a great opponent
01:59he's a deep body of work inside the octagon fought many a man
02:05it's a great opponent a great event great fight week great international fight week
02:11i'm very very happy here connor i'm very thankful
02:15connor money for you is like taking sand to a beach it's not a problem right but with this fight
02:22all these fighters beforehand today are all tipping max not this little man over here he thinks you're
02:29an absolute moral what do you say
02:33you know nothing better than proving people wrong people are entitled to their opinion some are valid you
02:40know there's there's some questions time out injury lifestyle yada yada yada i know
02:47i 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
02:53shut 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
03:27do you feel that right now like do you feel sort of that magic almost like a shake up the
03:32game
03:33shake up the business for sure prove myself to myself i am who i say i am
03:43i am that i am i want to ask you one more question because you've been talking a lot about
03:49finding religion
03:50and and putting yourself in this spiritual place and normally it takes like a certain moment for
03:56for that reflection to happen to kind of turn things around do you remember the moment where
04:02you felt like this is the need like you had to get to the knees and and and rejoice and
04:07and and find that within yourself do you remember that that moment where you kind of turned it all over
04:15you know it's a you gotta do deep internal work it's not just like it's many moments even if you
04:23will
04:23it's not just one it's a whole sequence of events and almost divine coincidences that just cannot be
04:32anything but the higher power and i connected to it i am not my body i am not
04:43my feelings i am not my thoughts i 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 what 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
05:11titled with one x bet there's a partner of mine so you know we showed them love they support the
05:18mac in the camp and i'm grateful for all the support from my business associates and my team and then
05:26my
05:26fans i'm grateful 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 what can you tell us about the city and what can
05:49you tell 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 las vegas the fight capital of the world i look forward to
06:04opening up this market for my bare knuckle fighting championship company which will be an
06:08outstanding event imagine bare knuckle fighting championship in las vegas we're very excited with
06:13that those conversations 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 hunger you had before what do you say to those things you are done
06:42you know if i didn't have the fire or the hunger yet i'm up against one of the most active
06:49bodies in the fight game in max holloway but you know i just think it's silly to say this you
06:56know
06:56the challenge is colossal it is a colossal challenge ahead of me that i am entering with supreme confidence
07:05it'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 champ
07:32connor 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 honor you and what does that mean to you that you've had this cultural relevance so it's always
07:48great it's always great when we have a little a little one a little fresh one on saturday night
07:55you 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 on approach or
08:47on styles there's a full-fledged mixed martial artist stepping inside that octagon on saturday night and i'm
08:54excited to show it last one for me you very famously apologized to absolutely nobody uh in your career
09:00do you have doubts or do you have regrets excuse me about like anything that's happened in your career
09:04or anything that you've done along the way you know i'm thankful for the lessons i've learned
09:11and my job is to honor the position god has put me in and do not disrespect it and that's
09:22where i'm at
09:22i'm thankful for the lessons i have learned and oh my god connor when i saw you uh in saudi
09:29arabia a
09:30couple years ago at the tyson fury francis and ghani fight you were pretty frustrated and said you're
09:35being kept from your living to be back here now like sitting on that stage just days away um are
09:40you
09:40can any part of you be grateful to get those extra two years or like how do you feel sitting
09:45up there
09:45right now i don't want to get into this therapy vibe it's a few tough years it has been a
09:52few
09:52tough years thank you for reminding me because that's had to give me a nice feeling of yes i'm
09:56here i am here now it's been a tough one you know but god works in mysterious ways it is
10:05all
10:06as it should so maybe it just wasn't meant to be at that time and i'm happy how it has
10:14come about
10:14looking back and looking at how my preparation has gone i'm thankful how it's gone i'm well ready here
10:21you know if you think about it i've spent a few some time preparing for the stocky the stocky
10:27boxer wrestler the athletic wrestler in chandler and then i you know you go to a longer rangy
10:35more volume striker and max so i had to be very i had to be very proper in my preparation
10:43you know
10:44i couldn't take that for granted you have to you're switching a completely different stylistic
10:48opponent so you know i put the work in and the time has worked i'm happy and thankful
10:55for for how it has worked out max has said um you know that citing your quote that it's not
11:01a win unless you finish the fight and that you're i guess oh no going into that do you believe
11:05that
11:05you have a true win over this man are you looking at it listen i put my big paws and
11:09i put my big
11:10all his paws in his face i saw the boy and you know i faced a devastating injury you know
11:17a career
11:17ending injury happened to me in that bout that changed my entire uh approach to fighting with
11:23the acl tear and the meniscus tear it was the first time i'd ever experienced something like that
11:28so uh you know listen i beat him and i'm gonna beat him again on saturday night for sure
11:35just last for me uh 100 numbered ufc events before this was ufc 229 the biggest fight we've had in
11:41the
11:41history of the sport with you and habib we're 100 events forward now is this in a better place like
11:47how do you look at the sport now do you feel it's it can raise to that level again do
11:51you bring it to
11:52that level again the economics the finances of the company show last year what they got 1.4 billion
11:58and free cash floating around i hope there's something spectacular for the fans i know bigger
12:07performances i don't know there should be we should be doing something we should be
12:13shocking the world and exciting the world with our events here and i hope so and i believe it will
12:17be
12:17that that will be the case certainly inside the octagon i will do so i will do my part and
12:24uh you know
12:25yeah the court the business is booming my man 7.7b in from paramount showed this and we're going
12:32live on cbs which i'm very thankful for the support of the paramount family there you go business is
12:38booming baby connor can you understand why some people feel you don't deserve this platform given
12:46the court case two years ago i'm an innocent man and i stand for my innocence until the day i
12:54go out
12:54and that is still a situation where i fight there's a reason it didn't go where it went and went
13:00to a
13:01civil trial it is what it is it stings deep i continue to fight i know the truth and i
13:12know that lying
13:12lips are an abomination to the lord and i know that anything done in darkness will soon come to light
13:19and i trust in god that it's coming you best believe it's coming and i look very very forward
13:28to the day do you feel like you fell into the trap that so many fighters do with fame and
13:33money
13:36obviously 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
13:53in that time of my life i was an athlete at the top of my game
13:58next thing you know there's thousands upon thousands of bottles in my garage
14:02sell this connor okay i'd leave my property and with two bottles under my arm and that was it i
14:10was
14:10caught
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
14:36connor some people say that one of the changes to the business is that you almost became too big
14:41you can exist outside of the ufc bubble and that now maybe they don't want to pay another star quite
14:47as much because then it might be harder to negotiate fights do you feel that's true do you feel like
14:52you had an impact because you were so successful and showed an example to the rest of the your
14:57colleagues as fighters you know i'll always campaign for the fighters getting their worth
15:01and i'm very happy with it we're getting it's it's a it's a steady rise if you ask max i'm
15:07sure it's
15:07probably five times its highest pay you know so the boys are getting there and i'm happy 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
15:23in a pickle you know i always vouch for the fighters so but i also have a stake in the
15:30company
15:30so there has to be some sort of balance but still i'm a fighter at heart i know what it
15:35takes in this
15:36business and i know without the fighters there is none of this not an iota of it so
15:43i'm happy that the money is rising in the fight business and that we're thriving and i'm happy
15:49to be back and give it that extra little extra little fuel to its rocket and off it goes
15:56if you could be anonymous for one day go somewhere and nobody recognized you what would you do uh where
16:02would you go my man i don't know church i go to church and just praise god get on my
16:13knees and
16:14praise our lord he's given me it all and i'm forever on my knees in praise connor connor justin gaite
16:26said he'll be in attendance for your fight against max he also says he wants to punch you in the
16:33face
16:33what's your response to justin gaite
16:37yeah join the queue join the queue there's a few you know yeah look he has the lightweight belt fair
16:45play to him
16:48holloway put him face down ass up though badly badly face down so you know i'm not even thinking of
16:56it
16:56at this time but i got down to lightweight again also is another thing i don't i'm not so sure
17:02i fancy
17:06the triple crown i fancy the triple crown so less of the disrespect you fucking bum
17:15now max holloway has also been training with jdm in who's a walterweight himself
17:20what are your thoughts on him choosing jdm as a training partner to emulate you
17:28that's not going to cut it not bad choice why not
17:33i've seen the little pity pat mickey mouse club
17:37training it looks like a teen amateur fucking it's not on the level it's not going to cut it for
17:41the ferocity that will be before him in the octagon as well as the array of weaponry
17:49so there you go both can get it
17:52connor connor connor you said that you're ready to face the best fighters
17:58so shavkat rachmanov beat your fellow irishman ian gary considered as the most one of the most dangerous
18:04contenders in this division so if things go your way
18:07uh do you see the fight happening one day and what do you think of him as a fighter
18:13he has i know he had a heavy injury and he's building back from that so i'll leave him to
18:18it
18:18i don't really think anything of him at the minute he's got a lot of work to do
18:23he he what has he got to offer me you know the title it would have he would have to
18:28acquire the title
18:29for me to even consider he's a he's not a bad fighter that's it
18:36connor what sort of conversations do you think people will be having on monday morning after
18:40your fight the mac is well and truly back and that's it the excitement is going to be off the
18:46charts on saturday night the performance is going to be off the charts i have some shot selection here
18:52and some set of movements that i plan for this bout and i'm excited to showcase it
19:00connor yeah you have some of the wildest build-ups pre-fight build-ups in ufc history
19:04but things seem pretty cordial between you and max after the time away is a calm build of what you
19:10need or do you prefer the chaos it's pretty chaotic all of it you know i i am calm i
19:17am centered for
19:18sure probably more than i've ever been and i'm very happy with that i'm very happy with the work i
19:22have
19:22put into myself with the people who have helped me and i'm in a great space bring on the chaos
19:28baby
19:29i'm calm in the chaos comfortable in the uncomfortable thank you ladies and gentlemen
19:36this mac energy is sensational yeah this is going to blow this colossal yeah i'll give a shit down
19:41this is going to blow this colossal industry wide open this energy drink category it's got loaded
19:47with ketones bhp ketones that i have patented you people go into a ketogenic state they they starve
19:54and fast themselves to get this what i've got in the can and no one no other energy drink can
19:58have
19:58this this baby is going to rocket ship to the moon try it and enjoy it right god bless you
20:03all don't
20:04go ahead sorry my man just a couple i just wanted to ask you does it upset like obviously uh
20:08i've seen
20:08we've we'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 the heyday does it upset you that that's the way that it is and do you
20:17feel like
20:17you you wanted to win back the irish people and really have it be like it was you know a
20:21decade
20:22ago i'm not here to win anyone back i'm here to represent my country what's what is taking place
20:28in ireland is the saddest story in the west it is a travesty what is taking place that our borders
20:37are wide open and that the most violent cultures are just hoisted upon our people in our rural towns
20:46and the crime that is taking place is showing it and if god wills it i'll do it not step
20:53in
20:54and that's it i hope so it is what it is the way people can feed into the propaganda or
21:00or the
21:00you know the lies that are pushed to the people it is what it is it's sad and it is
21:08a saddest story of
21:08the west in my opinion as 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 pimblett 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
21:46you
22:09you
22:10you
22:10you
22:10you
22:11you
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