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Max Holloway believes Conor McGregor was a shell of his former self leading up to his injury at UFC 329.

Holloway and McGregor had their rematch back in July in the “Notorious” one’s comeback fight. Fans didn’t exactly get a glimpse of what McGregor had been working on during his absence, as his right knee gave out early on. The fight was stopped a few seconds after the one-minute mark, leaving fans disappointed.

Since the fight, McGregor has said that dry ice from the fog used during his walkout made the canvas slippery. In a new video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Holloway dismissed McGregor’s claim and said the Irish star is simply not the same fighter he once was.

“Him talking about this generational beating, dude is delusional,” Holloway said. “To me, he felt slow in there. He felt slow. He looked old. If there was gonna be a generational beating, it wasn’t gonna be on his end. I’ll tell you that much. It wasn’t going to be coming from his side. At the end of the day, I feel bad for the fans. It was a big event. A lot of people spent a lot of money. Shoutout to them to come to support, but had the man weak in the knees from the beginning, I guess.”

McGregor is targeting a return in summer 2027. The former two-division champion has revealed that he has just one fight left on his current UFC deal. “Mystic Mac” has insisted that his next bout needs to be a trilogy against “Blessed.”

What will happen with Holloway in the meantime remains to be seen. He will likely not wait until McGregor returns for his next outing. Another showdown with Charles Oliveira would likely be too soon, but some are wondering if Holloway could jump the line to challenge for the UFC lightweight gold given he has a brutal knockout win over titleholder Justin Gaethje.

Do you agree with Max Holloway’s assessment of Conor McGregor? Leave a comment below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM