Paddy Pimblett is siding with Conor McGregor because he sees the jump to 170 pounds as the key factor in the UFC 329 rematch, and his read is simple: early danger favors McGregor, while late volume favors Max Holloway. Pimblett’s argument centers on size, power, and the idea that Holloway could look undersized at welterweight after already appearing smaller in a recent lightweight matchup with Charles Oliveira.
Paddy Pimblett Picks Conor McGregor Over Max Holloway
Paddy laid it out in direct terms when discussing the matchup. “Personally, I think because it’s at welterweight, I can see Conor knocking him out,” he said, before adding, “everyone’s counting Conor out and thinks that Max is going to win it.”
He then pointed to the likely swing point in the fight: “If it goes to the later rounds, yeah, Max definitely start piecing him up on the feet because he’s got that cardio and the volume. But the fact that it’s at welterweight, I think, favors Conor because Charles made Max look small at lightweight. So imagine how big Conor’s going to look compared to him at welterweight?”
The Liverpool-born athlete is not saying McGregor is the safer choice over 25 minutes; he is saying the weight class gives the Irish fighter a better chance to land something fight-changing before Holloway’s pace takes over. In that sense, Pimblett is backing for former featherweight and lightweight champion’s best weapons rather than pretending Holloway’s strengths disappear, because he openly acknowledged that a longer fight should shift toward Holloway’s output and rhythm on the feet.
McGregor and Holloway first met in August 2013, when McGregor won a unanimous decision in a featherweight bout, and the rematch is now set to headline UFC 329 on July 11 as a non-title welterweight main event during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
The weight jump is the story here, since Holloway built his name at featherweight and has also competed at lightweight, while this booking pushes both men into a 170-pound setting that Pimblett believes benefits McGregor far more.
Pimblett’s stance also goes against the betting market. Holloway has been listed as the favorite for the fight, while McGregor opened as the underdog.
Pimblett is part of the same UFC 329 card, where he is booked to face Benoit Saint Denis in the co-main event, so these comments came while he was already speaking around one of the year’s biggest fight weeks. That gave extra attention to his take, but the substance was clear from the start: “Because it’s at welterweight, I see Conor knocking Max out.”
