Conor McGregor calls for third UFC fight against Max Holloway in 2027

Conor McGregor has laid out ‌a long-term plan, seeking a ⁠rematch of ⁠his recent loss to Max Holloway in what would be the final bout of his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) deal.

In ⁠an Instagram post that references the UFC’s International Fight Week next July, McGregor wrote on Monday, “What was to be ⁠a generational beating is now to be reset. IFW 2027. The Last Dance.”

Should McGregor oppose Holloway again, it would be the pair’s third matchup.

In a welterweight fight at UFC ‌329 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11, Holloway (28-9) won by technical knockout in just 69 seconds after McGregor (22-7) hurt his right knee on an early kick.

The two fighters also squared off in August 2013, when McGregor won by unanimous decision.

McGregor, 38, is ⁠due to have his torn anterior ⁠cruciate ligament surgically repaired, which likely explains the long wait for the rematch.

Even though the Irish fighter recently posted an Instagram video showing him going through leg ⁠exercises, UFC president Dana White said on Sunday of McGregor, “Conor McGregor’s out for ⁠a year.”

The July 11 contest was ⁠McGregor’s first action in the Octagon in five years, since a technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas. McGregor ‌has lost each of his past three bouts and four of the past five.

Holloway, a 34-year-old Honolulu native, ‌dropped ‌a unanimous decision to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March in Las Vegas before bouncing back to defeat McGregor.