Conor McGregor admits he lost his love for MMA during his long absence: 'I got lost'
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- Conor McGregor fights for the first time in nearly five years at UFC 329, rematching Max Holloway — whom he beat in 2013 — in a return anchored to this year's UFC International Fight Week.
- McGregor admitted in a CBS interview with Nate Burleson that he 'got lost' after winning two UFC division titles and boxing Floyd Mayweather by age 27, saying 'I had the game wrapped up in a blink, and what more was I to do?'
- McGregor has won just one fight in the last nine years, and his time away from competition included a failed Irish presidential campaign, multiple assaults, alleged physical and sexual assaults, and civil liability in a sexual assault case.
- McGregor previously pulled out of a UFC International Fight Week comeback against Michael Chandler two years ago, making UFC 329 his second attempt at a return.
- McGregor framed the return as a homecoming, saying 'If you truly love something, you'll always come home' and calling the fight game 'my every waking thought.'
- McGregor acknowledged fan skepticism, conceding 'there may be pockets where I would have disrespected and disgraced the position that God had put me in' and that it was 'accurate' to question his love for the sport during his absence.
Why it matters: McGregor's UFC 329 return comes after a nine-year stretch in which he won just one fight, and his time away included civil liability in a sexual assault case alongside multiple assault allegations that eroded fan goodwill. His own admission that he 'got lost' frames the Holloway rematch as a reputation-rebuilding fight against an opponent he already beat in 2013, with the reputational stakes concentrated on whether 'The Notorious' persona can be reactivated at all.
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