Max Holloway is already training as if the Conor McGregor rematch is real. The problem is that nobody has officially signed anything yet. That is the strange position ‘Blessed’ is currently in as rumors regarding a blockbuster battle at UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas gain traction online. After all, the fight makes sense to almost everyone involved.

‘The Notorious’ has been looking for the right comeback opponent after five years away from the Octagon, and Max Holloway desperately wants to get over his devastating BMF title loss to Charles Oliveira in March. But even with all the noise swirling around the potential matchup, the Hawaii native admits the UFC still has not put a contract in front of him. Despite this, the training camp is already underway.

“I mean, it’s just, it sucks, right?” he said during a recent interview with UFC on Paramount. “Because, you know, of course, you don’t have nothing signed or whatever, so training camp, it looks like a really good training camp without a contract.

“You know, we kind of know where we wanna fight, why we wanna fight, so. And that’s just getting in the gym, getting there, getting it done.”

Given Conor McGregor’s track record in recent years, the uncertainty is understandable. The Irish superstar has regularly hinted at a comeback since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021, but nothing has materialized. Fighters like Michael Chandler spent months waiting on promises that never came true.

Holloway, however, appears willing to gamble on this one because the upside is too massive to ignore. Even now, he is excited by the possibilities the oppotunity presents.

“Maybe we’ll see what happens,” he continued. “I’m seeing all the talk that you guys see. I really didn’t hear anything yet, but that wouldn’t be a bad time.

“You’re only as good as your last fight, they say, and we’re going to get everybody forgetting about that last fight as soon as possible.”

If the UFC can finally get the contracts signed, UFC 329 may be delivering one of the promotion’s biggest comeback fights in years. But, until then, Max Holloway is stuck doing the hardest task in combat sports: training for a ghost.

But whenever it happens, it will undoubtedly deliver because when it comes to this rivalry, there is also unfinished business attached to this matchup, one of the several reasons that makes Max Holloway believe McGregor would be an ideal opponent for him.

Max Holloway dives deep into what makes Conor McGregor the perfect opponent for him

The 34-year-old believes it’s not just about fighting Conor McGregor because the name guarantees attention. It’s about renewing a rivalry that started before either man became a superstar. When they first met in 2013, both were promising featherweight prospects trying to climb the ranks.

More than a decade later, ‘Blessed’ sees an opportunity to rewrite the chapter. And that matters to him deeply.

“I mean, we have history,” he said. “We have history from a very long time ago. And I told you guys, man, if somebody got one over on me, I wanna get him back. I’d love to get him back.

“It was him having all this talk of coming back, and everybody talking about how serious he actually looks, like he’s training and taking it and really wanting to come back to fight. It’s exciting, you know what I mean? He looks hungry. He looks super hungry.”

For Holloway, seeing Conor McGregor train hard again has made the rumors more credible than before. At the same time, ‘Blessed’ understands the scale attached to anything involving ‘The Notorious.’ But, beyond the money and the limelight, this matchup is personal.

When they initially fought, Max Holloway wasn’t the BMF we grew to love, and Conor McGregor hadn’t yet become UFC’s biggest star. Now, both men bring completely different legacies to a potential rematch, which is why ‘Blessed’ believes this fight feels bigger than just another comeback story, and he is preparing for it as if it were already real.