Former UFC double champ Daniel Cormier believes motivation alone won’t be enough for Conor McGregor to beat Max Holloway on July 11.

The Irishman, who has been out of action for nearly 5 years after a catastrophic leg injury during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in 2021, is finally set to return to the octagon in July at UFC 329 to run it back with Holloway. The McGregor vs. Holloway 2 bout will be a welterweight clash and also the former BMF champ’s first clash at 170 pounds.

Despite McGregor going all out in training and living in the gym before the rematch, fans remain concerned about his lengthy inactivity and the ring rust that comes with it. Even “DC” has similar concerns.

Daniel Cormier believes we will undoubtedly see a fully committed and motivated Conor McGregor at UFC 329, but motivation alone doesn’t win fights. “The Notorious” has been inactive for nearly half a decade, while Max Holloway has continued to evolve and has faced and defeated some of the toughest fighters on the roster.

During a sitdown with Josh Thomson, Cormier said:

“My thought is we see a Conor McGregor that’s as focused and committed as he has ever been. I don’t know if with the injuries and the time away and the weight gains and now the weight loss and all these things, if that Conor McGregor, even if he is more motivated than ever, is enough to beat a Max Holloway. Now that’s no prediction, I’m just saying. But also you don’t get better at something by not doing it. That’s just the case. You can train as hard as you want, but at the end of the day it’s still been about five years since he was last in an octagon.”

Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments about Conor McGregor below (23:01):

Dustin Poirier believes Conor McGregor is born with “power” and can sleep Max Holloway if “The Notorious” returns with decent timing

Dustin Poirier believes even though Conor McGregor has not fought in the last five years, he will still have the same punching power when he enters the octagon to run it back with “Blessed.” Therefore, “The Diamond” believes the Dubliner has a very real chance of stopping Max Holloway.

Holloway has been dropped in his recent outings, and after a long career filled with slugfests, there are questions about whether his chin has begun to decline. On the WEIGHING IN podcast, Poirier said:

“I think the punching power is gonna be there regardless. I think Conor’s gonna come back from the injury and still have that natural punching power. The question for me is the timing, the athleticism, the movement. All those questions need to be answered. If his counter punching and his timing are anywhere near what it was, he has a chance to beat Max… Conor can punch, man. No matter how long he has been out, he still has a great equalizer, and that’s power. Some guys are born with it.”

Check out Dustin Poirier’s comments about Conor McGregor below:

Subham

Subham is a writer and editor with experience spanning MMA, Health & Fitness, true crime, and pop culture. He has previously worked with Sportskeeda MMA, SK True Crime, and SK Pop, Movies, and Shows.
He currently covers the UFC for LowKickMMA and MMA Pros Picks.