Dana White: UFC 329 to set UFC live gate record

UFC CEO Dana White has announced that Saturday’s UFC 329 fight card will set a new live gate record for the promotion. The event is headlined by the return of former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor, who faces former UFC featherweight titleholder Max Holloway in a rematch.

UFC 329 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and streams on Paramount+.

“The Conor McGregor effect is huge,” White told ESPN. “Our biggest gate ever was the Sphere (UFC 306), $22 million, this gate beat it at $25 million. So this is the biggest gate in UFC history for his return. The city is buzzing.”

With this announcement, McGregor will have been at the top of the card for four of the five largest live gates in UFC history.

Previous UFC Live Gate Records

• UFC 306 (Sphere, Las Vegas): $22 million
• UFC 205: $17.7 million
• UFC 229: $17,188,895
• UFC 300: $16,508,823

UFC 329 Fight Card

Main Card

• Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
• Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoit St. Denis
• Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval
• King Green vs. Terrance McKinney

Preliminary Card

• Nikita Krylov vs. Robert Whittaker
• Elisha Ellison vs. Gable Steveson
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez
• Kai Kamaka III vs. Luke Riley

Early Prelims

• Cong Wang vs. Tracy Cortez
• Cesar Almeida vs. Damian Pinas
• Farid Basharat vs. John Garza
• Ryan Gandra vs. Zach Reese
• Alessandro Costa vs. Cody Durden

Conor McGregor’s Return

This is not the first time White has announced a McGregor return. In April 2024, the UFC booked McGregor vs. Michael Chandler for the main event of UFC 303. A month later, White said UFC 303 — scheduled for June 29, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena — would be the first UFC card to achieve a live gate of $20 million or more.

However, McGregor withdrew from UFC 303 in mid-June 2024 due to a broken toe. The card, headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between then-champion Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka, drew a live gate of $15,909,243.

UFC 306 later became the first card to surpass the $20 million mark, drawing $21,829,245 on an attendance of 16,024 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Ticket prices for UFC 329 have not yet been announced. The fight card anchors International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

Fighter Records and Recent Form

Conor McGregor (22-6)

• Age: 37
• Record since October 2018: 1-3
• Most recent win: TKO victory over Donald Cerrone (January 2020)
• Most recent fight: TKO loss to Dustin Poirier (July 2021), after suffering a broken leg

Max Holloway

• Age: 34
• Record since McGregor’s last fight: 5-3
• Losses: Charles Oliveira (BMF title), Ilia Topuria (featherweight title), Alex Volkanovski (featherweight title)
• Wins: Yair Rodriguez, Arnold Allen, Korean Zombie, Justin Gaethje (BMF title), Dustin Poirier (BMF title defense)

Previous Meeting

McGregor and Holloway first fought at 145 pounds in August 2013. McGregor won via decision.

Betting Odds

• Opening odds: Holloway -550, McGregor +420
• Current odds: Holloway -400, McGregor +330

We will have more on UFC 329 as the event approaches.