McGregor def. Holloway
Decision (unanimous) · Round 3 · 5:00
McGregor vs Holloway · UFC Fight Night 26
What happened
Conor McGregor outworked a 21-year-old Max Holloway across three rounds on the Boston undercard, his unorthodox southpaw angles troubling Holloway early before he took control on the mat in the later rounds. Remarkably, McGregor tore his ACL mid-fight yet gutted out all three rounds for a unanimous decision — the only loss of Holloway's early career.
- McGregor's angles troubled Holloway early, and he controlled the ground game in the later rounds.
- McGregor tore his ACL during the bout but fought through to the final bell, improving to 2-0 in the UFC.
Watch
The full fight.
More videos · 4 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Analysts
No verified pre-fight analyst picks are logged for this historical bout.
Track record rows appear only when a timestamped source has been reviewed.
Archive
Pre-fight material — kept for transparency, folded by default.
Tale of the Tape
Records & career stats — as they entered fight night
- 5.32 6.91
- 54% 59%
- 4.66 4.61
- 67% 81%
- 91% 54%
- 14-2-0
- Record
- 7-3-0
- 2-3 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 3-2 last 5
- Southpaw
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- Orthodox
- 8:02
- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
- 16:39
- Welterweight (moving down)
- Weight classWeight
- Lightweight (moving down)
- Ireland
- Nationality
- USA
- SBG Ireland · Dublin
- Team
- Gracie Technics · Honolulu
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for McGregor
McGregor's case was cleaner southpaw boxing and the confidence to dictate range before Holloway could settle into his volume. If he kept the exchanges in open space, the left hand and counter timing would make Holloway pay for every square entry.
Case for Holloway
Holloway's case was pace and durability even at 21 years old. He had the longer combinations, a willingness to work the body and enough toughness to drag the fight past early optics and into a round-winning rhythm if McGregor ever slowed.
What We Were Watching For
- Whether McGregor can keep the fight long and clean, or Holloway can turn it into a busier volume contest.
- Holloway's body work and right hand against McGregor's stance switches and counter left.
- The grappling pivots late in rounds, where either man could steal minutes after the striking exchanges.
Fighters
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