Max Holloway is unsure whether Conor McGregor will ever return to the UFC as his progress stalls following a broken leg.
The pair fought very early in their promotional tenures, with the Irishman taking the decision after suffering an ACL tear early in the fight. But many believe that after both men went on to become legendary featherweight champions that they owe the fans and themselves a rematch, likely at lightweight or even welterweight.
But Holloway is concerned not only that rematch will not happen, but McGregor may never fight again. The Irishman broke his leg in against Dustin Poirier last summer, and after sprinting through the early stages of recovery, has seemingly stalled in his progress as of late.
McGregor returned to boxing sparring in April, but has limited his recent footage to drills on pads or with trainers. And the former two-division world champion has yet to step foot back in SBG Ireland's HQ for MMA training, despite early estimates being that he could spar with full contact months ago.
"With the Conor thing, he didn't really come out and say he's coming back," Holloway explained during a recent episode of The MMA Hour when asked about a possible rematch. "He did say 'I'm coming back', but there's no mark he put down. "At the end of the day, I don't blame him - why would he come back? Everybody in the fight game is trying to get to that point where they can make enough to live their life and get out and get ahead.
"We'll see what happens, I think that a fight with [lightweight champion Charles] Oliveira is way more fun and more possible actually. We have to wait and see. But in terms of fun, the Conor fight would be super fun." Holloway has yet to reach the dizzying heights of McGregor's fame and lifestyle, and is still fighting to provide for his young family. The Irishman is often a feature on the world's highest paid athlete lists, including topping it last year, and is known for his extravagant spending.
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Asked if he would make a return under the same circumstances as the Irishman, Holloway replied, "Probably not. I'd rather sip mimosas on top of my Lamborghini yacht. It is what it is, I'd love to travel the world and do all these high fashion shows, we'll see what happens. But, Conor is a very competitive guy just like me. I know that competitiveness is still in him, so I don't know, maybe we'll be jabbing at each other until we are 100-years-old. You never know."
However, Holloway will first have to focus on his efforts at reclaiming featherweight gold in his trilogy bout with Alexander Volkanovski on Saturday at UFC 276. He is 0-2 against the Australian fighter, but lost two razor-close decisions particularly in his second bout, and gets another chance this weekend.
