The bigger money is fading Conor McGregor in his return to UFC five years after his last fight. Max Holloway was a -225 favorite on Friday, with McGregor listed as a +185 underdog at DK Sports. The price on the fight had opened as high as Holloway -345, but has been coming down with lopsided action on McGregor.
The two fighters faced off in 2013, with McGregor winning in a unanimous decision. The rematch will take place Saturday in the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
Holloway is 27-9-0 with 12 knockouts during his career. He lost his most recent fight to Charles Oliveira in March by unanimous decision.
McGregor, who turns 38 this month, hasn't fought since suffering a broken leg in a 2021 bout against Dustin Poirier. McGregor has lost three of his past four fights dating back to 2018, with his last UFC victory coming against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in January 2020. He enters the fight with a career 22-6-0 record with 19 knockouts.
Despite the layoff, McGregor is attracting lopsided action at sportsbooks. BetMGM reported Friday that 85% of the bets were on McGregor, with the Irish fighter winning by knockout or disqualification at +250 odds being the most popular prop bet on the card at BetMGM.
Caesars Sportsbook reported similar one-sided action on McGregor but noted that the larger bets had been on the favored Holloway.
"We have seen some sizable wagers on Holloway, with one customer placing $50,000 on him, and a few others have tickets in the $10,000-$20,000 range," said Brandon Yaeger, Caesars' lead combat sports trader. "The biggest bet we've seen on McGregor so far is $13,000 at +180 odds."
The overall betting interest on the fight hasn't been up to the level of what McGregor bouts drew in his prime, but sportsbooks were expecting action to heat up on Saturday.
"By the time, McGregor is making his ring walk, I'd imagine there will be strong interest in this fight," Yaeger said.