UFC White House Star to Attend UFC 329 as Backup for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway

"One Shot" is coming off a dominant win at the UFC White House show last month.

USA TODAY Sports

One UFC star is headed to Las Vegas on Monday in case anything happens with the UFC 329 main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway.

There was no UFC event this weekend following last Saturday’s UFC Baku card, but the world’s leading MMA promotion returns home the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas next Saturday (July 11) for a massive UFC 329 card headlined by the return of McGregor.

Scheduled as the main attraction for this year’s International Fight Week, UFC 329 will see “The Notorious” return to the Octagon for the first time in five years to meet former featherweight and "BMF” titleholder Holloway, who dropped a decision to McGregor when the pair first met at featherweight in 2013.

Conor McGregor Withdrew From Previous UFC Comeback With Injury

There have been various obstacles to McGregor’s return in the five years since he met Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight that ended when he broke his ankle, and many members of the MMA community have been tempering their hype for his comeback until the Irishman actually enters the cage at UFC
329.

Conor McGregor is carried off a stretcher following an injury suffered against Dustin Poirier during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. | USA TODAY Sports

“The Notorious” was previously scheduled to return in 2024 at UFC 303 and meet Michael Chandler before withdrawing due to a broken toe, which left the UFC scrambling to save an event that ended up being headlined by a rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka.

Mauricio Ruffy Will Be Available as Backup for McGregor vs. Holloway Fight

Fans seem optimistic that a late injury won’t derail the Irishman’s return next Saturday, but top-ranked lightweight contender Mauricio Ruffy has announced that he’s heading to Las Vegas to make himself available if anything should happen to either McGregor or Holloway.

“Hey guys, you know I made myself available for the Conor McGregor fight, and Max Holloway,” Ruffy said in a video posted on his Instagram. “I’m going on a trip to Las Vegas. I took good care of myself, these guys made me train halfway through my vacation…We are going now to Vegas on Monday, and let’s see what happens.”

Max Holloway (red gloves) enters the Octagon before the fight against Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 326 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The UFC hasn’t formally named Ruffy as the backup fighter for McGregor vs. Holloway as of yet, but the Brazilian’s update to fans certainly makes it sound like the promotion asked him to stay in shape so that he’d be available to step in at UFC 329 if needed.

"One Shot" Has Knocked Out Four of Six UFC Opponents

Currently sitting at #10 in the Meta UFC rankings, Ruffy is a member of the “Fighting Nerds” team out of Sao Paulo, Brazil that has taken the UFC by storm in recent years.

After joining the UFC off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, Ruffy introduced himself to UFC fans in his debut at UFC 301 when he knocked out Jamie Mullarkey in the first round to earn a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Mauricio Ruffy (red gloves) fights Jamie Mullarkey (blue gloves) during UFC 301 at Rio Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Following a unanimous decision over short-notice opponent James Llontop, “One Shot” scored arguably the best knockout of 2025 when he floored longtime UFC veteran King Green with a spinning heel kick at UFC 313. That was followed by his first UFC loss against UFC 329 fighter Benoit Saint-Denis, but the 30-year-old returned to the win column at UFC 325 by stopping Rafael Fiziev.

Mauricio Ruffy celebrates after winning against Michael Chandler (not pictured) during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ruffy was in action last month as part of the “UFC Freedom 250” card at The White House, where the Brazilian made good on his status as the biggest favorite on the card with a dominant first-round finish of Chandler after the latter fighter finally moved on from trying to get his matchup with McGregor rebooked.