Five years after shattering his leg at UFC 264, Conor McGregor is aware of the risks associated with his UFC 329 comeback fight.

Conor McGregor will headline the UFC’s upcoming International Fight Week event in Las Vegas opposite former BMF titleholder Max Holloway at UFC 329. McGregor vs. Holloway 2 headlines a stacked card, featuring the returns of Paddy Pimblett, Cory Sandhagen, Robert Whittaker, and the highly anticipated debut of heavyweight Gable Steveson.

Despite his body of work being up there with the all-time UFC greats, McGregor has struggled in the latter stages of his career. He’ll enter UFC 329 as an underdog after five years away from the Octagon, stemming from his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

As McGregor prepares for his return to the Octagon this summer, the sting of how his trilogy with Poirier ended at UFC 264 lingers. Just minutes into their fight, McGregor broke his leg against Poirier in an anticlimactic end to the UFC 264 headliner.

Fast forward to 2026, and McGregor knows a similar scenario could play out in the Octagon against Holloway.

Conor McGregor hints at three potential injury ‘scenarios’ at UFC 329

In a recent interview with Mac Energy, McGregor shared a brutally honest assessment of what could happen inside the Octagon at UFC 329.

“As I’ve become a lot more experienced in the game, I actually work backwards towards the perfect scenario. So I have had a limb break inside the Octagon, so now I must have an answer to that,” McGregor said.

“I have the perfect scenario – you knock him out with the big backhand, the crowd roars. But I also have the worst-case scenario. The shoulder dislocates midway through the first round. What’s my mechanism? The lead shoulder dislocates in the first round. What are my movements? What are my reactions? Do I end or do I go to my back?

I have a whole selection of responses to the worst-case scenarios,” McGregor continued. “Not that I sit and dwell on them, overthink them, but I just have them. So if the ankle goes, if the knee goes, if the shoulder goes, what’s my response? Because the fight’s not over. If you give, it’s over. So if you have a maneuver, you can outlast and survive and then get towards the victory.”

Despite the ominous comments, McGregor claims he’s ‘better than ever’ ahead of his UFC 329 comeback. The former two-division UFC champion will look to turn back the clock when the cage doors close at UFC 329.

If McGregor is victorious against Holloway, it’ll be his first win since a first-round knockout against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.

What is your prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2? Let us know in the comments!