Ahead of his UFC 329 return, Conor McGregor has been on the receiving end of doubts about his readiness after five years away from the Octagon. Much of that skepticism stems from his lifestyle during the layoff. Due to the time he spent partying and indulging in drinks during his layoff, legendary coach Ray Longo went as far as saying the Irishman had “abused” his body. And Longo isn’t alone in this. However, his opponent, Max Holloway, sees it differently.

“Yeah, but then it proves it, and he says it. You know what I mean?” Holloway told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “Even he says it. Even having all the money, doing all this, doing whatever you want to do, you kind of lose yourself sometimes. And I feel like, from what I’m picking up from the way he’s talking in his recent interviews, he’s a fighter, man. That’s what he is. And he wants everybody to be reminded.

“A lot of people keep talking about his five-year layoff and blah, blah, blah. I’m like, ‘Bro, that’s five years of healing and getting better.’ Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, the lifestyle he’s living.’ Yeah, we saw what the media showed us about his lifestyle, right? But we don’t really know what was going on.”

McGregor did showcase a lavish lifestyle across social media during his time away. And many of these clips did show him partying and enjoying a drink here and there. But the former UFC two-division champion also occasionally uploaded training videos to show that he wasn’t completely cut off from MMA. In fact, ‘The Notorious’ went back to training in 2022, a year after breaking his leg at UFC 264. So the Hawaiian isn’t too wrong in suggesting that his time away might’ve even helped him get stronger, unlike what people assume.

Take the case of Jon Jones. The former two-division champion spent three years away from the sport after narrowly beating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020. Soon after his Reyes fight, he became involved in several controversies, including an arrest. Still, ‘Bones’ returned three years later in 2023 against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and finished off the Frenchman in the very first round. While it’s true that Conor McGregor is no Jon Jones, the Irishman isn’t a second-rate MMA fighter either. He still remains the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two separate weight classes simultaneously.

So what Max Holloway suggests could prove to be the case. However, let’s not forget there’s a flip side to the argument. Nick Diaz famously lost to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in 2021 after staying away from the sport for six years.

Regardless of which side one chooses to prefer, the former UFC two-division champion has shown optimism about his chances come fight night. In a recent interview with Paramount+, Conor McGregor revealed that he feels a lot “fresher” than other fighters, even Holloway, who has competed in eight fights since the Irishman’s grueling injury sidelined him for five years. As such, McGregor believes that gap gives him an edge heading into UFC 329.

Meanwhile, another famous UFC fighter has also given McGregor credit for putting his controversies behind him and making a comeback. Reacting to the 37-year-old’s return, Jon Jones admired Conor McGregor’s ability to always bounce back from his personal setbacks and return to fighting once again.

“He has had a lot of struggles, ups and downs, just like I have, but he always gets back on his feet, which is a huge example to so many out there,” Jones told Red Corner MMA a few days ago. 

Now, when it comes to facing doubts before a fight, Max Holloway isn’t immune to the same kind of scrutiny.

Max Holloway draws parallels with Conor McGregor amid ongoing criticism  

It seems the Irishman isn’t the only one facing questions before his anticipated comeback. Max Holloway opened up about finding himself on the receiving end of fans’ skepticism. During the same ESPN MMA interview, ‘Blessed’ stated that because he spends some of his free time streaming and playing games on KICK, many have accused him of not being locked in.

“I can almost relate,” Holloway said. “I’m not doing anything crazy, but I’m a streamer, right? I play video games for two to three hours a day, and people are harassing me on stream. ‘What the hell? You got a big fight. You’re not locked in,’ and this and that.

“It was even worse after the last fight because people were asking me before the fight, and then afterward they came back like, ‘Yeah, I told you. See?’ I’m like, ‘Bro, it’s two or three hours out of my day. I’m training, doing other stuff, and spending time with my family. There’s a lot of time in the day.”

Max Holloway faced plenty of criticism after failing to stop Charles Oliveira’s takedowns at UFC 326. But it just goes to show that no fighter is fully shielded from fan doubt.

With UFC 329 exactly a week away at T-Mobile Arena, both men head into the main event carrying the weight of outside scrutiny: McGregor over his layoff, Holloway over his downtime. Holloway’s defense of McGregor suggests he’s less concerned with the noise than with what happens once the cage door closes.