McGregor says he's the UFC's featherweight GOAT
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- Conor McGregor (22-6) makes his first UFC appearance since July 2021 at UFC 329 on Saturday, facing Max Holloway (27-9) in a non-title welterweight headliner.
- McGregor rose to fame between 2013 and 2015 at featherweight, capped by a 13-second championship knockout of José Aldo.
- McGregor never fought at 145 pounds after beating Aldo but says his skill level should still rank him as the greatest featherweight of all time, telling ESPN he's been 'kept from the list.'
- McGregor holds a prior three-round decision victory over Holloway from 2013, when it was only McGregor's second UFC fight and Holloway was 21 years old.
- Holloway defeated Aldo twice in 2017 and defended the UFC featherweight title four times, establishing himself among the division's all-time greats alongside Alexander Volkanovski and Aldo.
- McGregor, 37, acknowledged he never defended his 145-pound title, attributing it to 'bigger opportunities outside of the weight class,' while declaring: 'I am the greatest featherweight since Bruce Lee.'
Why it matters: McGregor returns after a layoff since July 2021 to face fellow featherweight legend Holloway at welterweight in a non-title UFC 329 headliner — but his GOAT claim rests on performance, not championship hardware at 145 pounds, a gap Holloway, Volkanovski, and Aldo filled with title defenses.
