Middle Easy

Merab Dvalishvili just added another shiny thing to the shelf, because the UFC bantamweight machine was named Male Fighter of the Year at the 17th Annual World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. In a week already stuffed with UFC 329 noise, the awards gave MMA fans a clean reminder of who owned the last eligibility window. The Fighter of the Year announcement was shared from the ceremony below. Charles "Mask" Lewis Fighter of the Year: Merab Dvalishvili#WorldMMAAwards pic.twitter.com/o5pJPdHyDY — Jed I.

John Kavanagh is not pushing the blame for Conor McGregor pulling out of UFC 303 onto bad luck. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, in comments highlighted by MMA Fighting, the SBG Ireland coach said the sparring setup before the Michael Chandler fight was rushed, partly mixed with UFC filming, and should have been controlled better before McGregor’s UFC 329 return against Max Holloway. McGregor was scheduled to fight Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024, but a toe injury forced him out.

Conor McGregor is back to throwing verbal elbows at Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the timing is exactly what you would expect from fight week. During a Complex interview, McGregor tore into the unbeaten former UFC lightweight champion while his own UFC 329 return against Max Holloway kept dragging old rivals back into the spotlight. McGregor opened the Khabib section by attacking Nurmagomedov’s style and his MMA legacy. He did not soften the language. “Can’t even kick above their fucking knee.

Conor McGregor says the Proper No. Twelve whiskey push after the Floyd Mayweather payday left him feeling “caught” and “trapped,” while also insisting he was not drinking heavily during that stretch. The comments came during UFC 329 media day, in a video shared by Championship Rounds, as McGregor’s fight week kept pulling old business and fight history back into the conversation. McGregor was asked whether he felt he fell into the same fame-and-money trap that has caught other fighters.

King Green is bringing some real betrayed-homie energy into UFC 329, because his lightweight fight with Terrance McKinney apparently came together after a hangout, a text, and one very awkward business decision. This is not just another undercard scrap before the Conor McGregor-Max Holloway madness. Green is saying McKinney was supposed to be a friend, then accepted the matchup anyway.

Conor McGregor walked into UFC 329 fight week sounding like a man trying to make the whole sport stare at him again. At media day in Las Vegas, McGregor said his body, mind and preparation are all where they need to be before Saturday’s welterweight rematch with Max Holloway. The fight is set for July 11, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Dustin Poirier is retired, but his UFC contract still gives the promotion a path back to him. In a One on One MMA clip shared by Red Corner MMA, Poirier said he would listen if the right fight came across the table. The names are the same ones that still move real money. Conor McGregor is active again because of UFC 329, Nate Diaz is the fight that never made it to the cage, and Justin Gaethje is tied 1-1 with Poirier after two violent lightweight fights. Watch the source clip below.

Max Holloway has heard every Conor McGregor warning on the board, and he is still treating UFC 329 like more than a nostalgia rematch. The former featherweight king and BMF champion says beating McGregor is not enough by itself. He wants the kind of performance that reminds everyone why “Blessed” has been living at the top of this sport for a decade. Here’s the UFC News clip that put Holloway’s message in motion.

Matchroom announced that Andy Ruiz Jr. has signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s company, putting the former unified heavyweight champion back on DAZN with his return fight expected to be announced this week. That is not a small roster move. Ruiz is still the guy who detonated the heavyweight division in 2019 when he stopped Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden and walked out with the WBA, WBO and IBF titles.

Belal Muhammad thinks Max Holloway’s UFC 329 rematch with Conor McGregor should start with caution, clinches, and a little wrestling. His warning is not that Holloway cannot strike with McGregor. It is that there is no reason to give McGregor a clean first-round left hand while everyone is still figuring out what version of him came back. Muhammad broke down the UFC 329 main event on his YouTube channel.