'The Notorious' Conor McGregor is back: Reliving his best five wins ahead of UFC 329

‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor is back.

The MMA superstar returns to the Octagon for the first time in just over five years Saturday night when he clashes with Max Holloway in a rematch for their UFC 329 headliner from T-Mobile Area in Las Vegas, Nevada.

McGregor (22-6-0) hasn’t been in action since the Dustin Poirier trilogy in July 2021, when the Irish sensation suffered a gruesome compound fracture of his left leg.

He faces Holloway (27-9), who defeated Poirier via unanimous decision in July 2025 before losing by the same result to Charles Oliveira this past May. When McGregor and Holloway collided in August 2013, the former had his hand raised in a three-round unanimous decision.

Can the 37-year-old McGregor return from a lengthy hiatus and still be successful? Any time he fights, it’s a must-see spectacle. With that said, in honor of his highly-anticipated return, DAZN News looks back at the icon’s five biggest wins.

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Crushing Eddie Alvarez to become UFC’s first ‘Champ-Champ’; November 12, 2016

Already entering the UFC 205 main event as the promotion’s featherweight champion, Conor McGregor made history at Madison Square Garden in New York City and for all watching live on pay-per-view. The moment came in the second round when Eddie Alvarez overextended on a right hand and McGregor responded with a sharp counter left followed by a lightning-quick combination that earned him the resounding stoppage. Just like that, McGregor held the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously.

Avenging loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 202; August 20, 2016

After tapping to a rear-naked choke in their first meeting more than five months prior, McGregor desperately needed to run it back with Nate Diaz in an attempt to avenge that loss. Not only did ‘The Notorious’ one secure that opportunity in Las Vegas, but he got the better of Diaz just enough to earn a majority decision in their rematch. Two classic, colorful fights, two Fight of the Night distinctions.

McGregor obliterates Jose Aldo to become featherweight titleholder; December 12, 2015

Jose Aldo entered the UFC 194 championship tilt as a feared fighter, having never tasted defeat in the UFC with seven defenses of his world featherweight title in tow. Well, that all changed spectacularly when Aldo errantly lunged with a right hand only to get slept by a slick left cross followed by a couple of hammerfists. As scintillating as the 13-second knockout was, equally astonishing was that McGregor actually spoke the finish into existence in not only predicting the first-round KO, but also the exact way it happened. ‘Mystic Mac,’ indeed.

McGregor is crowned interim world champion; July 11, 2015

Having earned three straight Performance of the Night honors, McGregor earned a crack at Chad Mendes with the interim featherweight world title on the line at UFC 189 in Las Vegas. Following a hard-fought opening round, McGregor buzzed Mendes with a couple of left hands before unloading a punching barrage that left the California native slumped and stopped for an electric outing from ‘The Notorious.’

Striking first against in rivalry with Dustin Poirier; September 27, 2014

Significant at the time, and arguably even more so in hindsight considering their eventual trilogy, the first meeting between these bitter rivals ended moments after McGregor landed a clubbing left hook to start talking trash to Dustin Poirier in the Octagon. McGregor then applied the finishing touches by dropping Poirier with a left hook behind the ear and mashing him out with punches for another eye-opening first-round stoppage.