Matt Brown says simply making it to the cage for his UFC 329 fight against Max Holloway may matter as much as winning for Conor McGregor, and that a loss would effectively end his relevance as a world-class competitor.
Brown addressed McGregor’s comeback on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, laying out the stakes plainly.
“If he doesn’t make this walk, I think it’s going to be unanimous agreement he’s done and he’s never fighting again. If he doesn’t go in there and win, I think it’s going to be a unanimous agreement that no one wants to see him fight again either. Even if he looks good. He goes in, he actually fights Max Holloway, he loses, I don’t see anybody really interested in seeing him fight again. Of course, everybody will watch. He’s a big enough star, he could fight and lose the next five or 10 times and people will still watch. He’s a big enough star, that’s what’s going to happen, but the interest will wane hugely if he doesn’t make this walk and find a way to win. It’s a lot of pressure on his side.”
Brown said a win over Holloway specifically would be significant given who Holloway has become since their first meeting.
“Whether he wins or loses, I have to have some respect for Conor for taking the fight against Max Holloway. A known killer who has had a ton of success since last time they fought. If he goes in and makes that walk, that’s a gigantic risk for him. If he loses this fight, his relevance as a fighter drops dramatically. We’ll watch, he could fight another 10 times, I’m sure everyone would watch. But his relevance as a world-class competitor, pretty much drops off the map. Any fights he does after that is kind of like influencer fights or something along those lines.”
Brown did acknowledge McGregor has a path to victory.
“I can see the argument where you think Conor would have a good chance. For one, it’s at 170 and Conor has good power at 170. Max is hittable. He’s certainly a hittable guy. Conor has a win over him in the past. Max has been through the ringer. He’s got a lot of miles on those tires. I can see where you can make that argument where it’s not the worst matchup.”
McGregor has not competed since suffering a broken leg at UFC 264 in July 2021. Holloway has competed eight times since then, all in main events or title fights.