He has ZERO chance. He is 38 yrs old, hasn't fought in 5 yrs, coming off a brutal leg break, has been a drug addicted alcoholic criminal in those 5 yrs, has a PATHETIC gas tank that will be even worse now at 170 lb, he is fighting a guy in Holloway who is always in shape, granite chin, always gives it everything when he fights and will be very motivated to avenge a loss to McGregor from early in his career. If anyone is picking Conor to win this then I want to know what substances they are smoking because it ain't happening. Conor hasn't looked good for 10 yrs. Holloway stops him within 2 rds.
Mcgregor KO1. Gaethje beat Ilia, Sean beat Khamzat, 2026’s narrative is already clear. McGregor has no chance, therefore he absolutely demolishes Max.
Some valid points. But to play devils advocate.. McGregor did look good in moments against a prime Poirier he wasn't hopelessly outclassed on the feet. So in his last couple of fights he was still dangerous at least early. Max on the other hand has been in a lot of wars and his once iron chin has be cracked. he's also competing north a division. If Conor still has a good round or two in him it's not hopeless. But almost certainly it will all go down hill should it get out of those rounds regardless of how banged up Max might be.
McGregor was competitive for 1 rd in the Poirier fights then got a beatdown. Did he hurt/wobble/knockdown Dustin in those 2 first rds ? No. Conor really hasn't proved he has significant power above 145 imo. Even in the Eddie Alvarez fight he couldn't put him away quick it took numerous knockdowns before the ref called it off and that was 10 yrs ago in his prime . Yes there is outliers to everything in life but it's very very hard to envisage Conor winning this fight or even being competitive for more than half a rd. As another poster mentioned the ufc should have made the Chandler fight as that would be more competitive but the ufc won't do Conor any favours now as they will not re-sign him after his last 2 fights as he is completely washed as a fighter and as a person.
I'm still doubting Mcgregor turns up, looks way over weight and has no cardio to waste if he has trouble on the scales..Then again UFC are known to get their money makers through dodgy weigh ins.
The fight is at 170 most likely due to everyone having little faith in McGregor making 155. Also, whats everyone's thoughts on Bobby Knuckles moving to 205? IMO, his more recent struggles at 185 have likely been due to him having outgrown the division. If my boy still is even 70% of what he used to be, then its going to be a fun ride at 205.
Even at MW he was small. I think he can still take most LHWs to school in terms of speed and technique but man if he gets touched on the chin once its gone.
I don't know, he did not look like a big WW either, yet was forced to move up in his early 20s. If he was draining to make 185, then a move up in weight will improve his chin. Whittaker was always a bit chinny, but he was still though and very durable, unfortunately it has not been the case since about the second Izzy fight. If weight was not an issue then I don't see him doing well at 205.
Disagreed I think he's still a massive puncher at 155. It's at 170 where his punches lose a lot of their snap. At 155 he likely would have stopped Diaz both times. That said he's still going to hit extremely hard there against blown up featherweights and lightweights like Holloway and Cerrone. The question for me is can he get Max out of there in the early rounds before gassing, because if he doesn't Max will almost certainly take over even if he's been hurt badly several times. It's not hard for me to envision at all. It just needs to happen early. and Max isn't as durable as he used to. There's a reason Conor asked for this fight. It isn't pure delusion. He definitely know what matchups he has a shot at and those that he doesn't. Doesn't mean he'll win, but obviously he and his team like his chances.
He could always out hustle Holloway on the ground again, like he did in third round of the first fight. If Conor can maintain control on the ground, then he can ensure that the fight stays at his pace, and even tho fighting on the ground is not easy its still preferable to the opponent being in control of the pace instead. This content is protected
Conors TDD and ground game are underrated in general. He was able to stuff a lot of Khabibs takedowns and get back to his feet. I don't know that he has the stamina at 170 for a grappling heavy approach to cheese some of the later rounds. I might be in a minority but I think a hungrier Conor has a solid chance of winning that fight. He took it after Mayweather and still did better than anyone else has against a prime Khabib.
