Conor McGregor and Max Holloway pulled apart by security after heated UFC 329 face-off

Conor McGregor and Max Holloway had to be pulled apart during the UFC 329 press conference in Las Vegas.

The controversial Irish fighter, 37, is heading back into the Octagon for the first time in five years in the headline bout with 34-year-old Holloway.

The upcoming event will be the second time the two men have fought, having previously battled it out at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen in August 2013.

That night, McGregor won by decision.

Ahead of the event on Saturday (11 July), the UFC 329 press conference got underway at around 3am BST today, with McGregor and Holloway joined by Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett and Benoit Saint-Denis.

The press conference allowed the men to trade some verbal jabs ahead of real ones at the weekend and McGregor wasted no time in attempting to wind up his opponent.

He said: “We’re coming in to win spectacularly, for sure. That’s it, I’m coming in for it all. This is for all the marbles. I’m coming in like a missile.

“Destruction. I’m going to destroy Max. I’m going to eliminate Max, the final opponent of mine still within the UFC ranks. All of my other opponents are gone, Max is the last one left, and on Saturday night, he gets eliminated for good.”

After throwing down the gauntlet, McGregor said Holloway’s boxing was ‘abysmal’, adding: “Very rarely have we seen magic from Max Holloway in the Octagon, little evil Max Holloway.”

Holloway seemingly refused to take the bait and instead said his upcoming opponent was ‘doing all the right things’ and admitted he was readying himself for a fight with a ‘dangerous Conor McGregor’.

McGregor appeared to agree with that sentiment, telling the crowd they’d ‘see a ferocious man’ during the fight.

While things remained pretty chill throughout the conference, it was a different story when McGregor and Holloway came face-to-face for the first time in almost 13 years.

Walking up to his opponent, McGregor ripped the sunglasses off Holloway’s face and chucked them into the baying crowd.

Holloway appeared to remain composed but security quickly stepped in to avoid tensions boiling over pulling the two men apart.

The two men were then allowed to reconvene and McGregor could be seen slapping away Holloway's hand before they were eventually dragged apart by security once again.

McGregor’s comeback comes five years after he suffered a broken leg at the end of the first round against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and almost two years after he was found civilly liable for assault.

Nikita Hand successfully sued McGregor in civil court after she accused him of raping her. The MMA fighter claimed the sex had been consensual but a jury ruled in Hand's favour.

He was ordered to pay her €248,603 (£207,000) in damages in November 2024. McGregor's subsequent appeals against the verdict were dismissed.

McGregor vs Holloway 2 date, start time and venue

UFC 329 takes place on Saturday, 11 July at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The earliest prelim fights will begin at around 10pm BST, which in the USA equates to 5pm ET and 2pm PT.

The main card bouts are expected to start from 2am BST on Sunday, 12 July.

That's 9pm ET and 6pm ET over in the States.