CBS Airs 1-Hour Conor McGregor UFC 329 Special Before July 11 Return

Q: Is Conor McGregor’s return at 37 a final shot at glory or just a massive payday for a controversial superstar?

It looks more like both, but the safer reading is that the payday is guaranteed while the glory is uncertain. McGregor’s return is undeniably a major commercial event. He is set to earn at least $15 million, remains the UFC’s biggest crossover star, and the CBS/Paramount+ primetime special underscores that the promotion is selling not just a fight, but McGregor as spectacle. Even Max Holloway has openly framed the matchup as a lucrative opportunity. Given McGregor’s estimated $200 million net worth and his history of turning fights into global business events, money is clearly central. The sporting case is harder. McGregor is 37, coming off a five-year layoff, and has only one win in the last decade. He is returning from the severe leg break he suffered in 2021, and he enters as a betting underdog against a far more active Holloway. Many fighters and analysts, including Din Thomas and Robert Whittaker, have picked Holloway, citing ring rust, age, and Holloway’s pace and durability. That makes this less a likely title springboard than a high-risk attempt to prove he still belongs. Still, it would be wrong to dismiss the comeback as only a cash grab. McGregor is taking on a credible opponent, not an easy tune-up, and his rhetoric about being “venomous” suggests he sees this as a legacy fight. If he beats Holloway after this absence, it would be one of the most significant wins of his career. So the payday is the certainty; the shot at glory is the gamble.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 10

CBS will carry a live 1-hour UFC 329 primetime special at 9 p.m. ET on July 10 from the weigh-in, with Paramount+ also streaming the event.
McGregor and Max Holloway headline the special ahead of their five-round welterweight rematch Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where McGregor returns after a five-year layoff.
The broadcast will also feature co-main fighters Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint-Denis, plus an appearance by UFC CEO Dana White.
UFC 329’s wider card includes Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson’s UFC debut, Robert Whittaker’s move to light heavyweight and Cody Garbrandt facing Adrian Yanez.