Max Holloway enlists former UFC champion to prepare for Conor McGregor fight in new division

Max Holloway has welcomed Jack Della Maddalena to his fight camp in preparation for his fight against Conor McGregor.

‘Blessed’ faces McGregor, who is returning after five years out, in the main event of a stacked UFC 329 card on July 11, which also features Paddy Pimblett‘s comeback fight against Benoit Saint Denis.

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Holloway was dominated by Charles Oliveira last time out at UFC 326 in March and is moving from lightweight to welterweight to take on McGregor.

McGregor has contested three welterweight bouts in his UFC career, trading wins with Nate Diaz at 170lbs in 2016 before stopping Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in his last victory to date, which came in 2020.

The weight class is arguably the only factor playing in McGregor’s favour ahead of UFC 329.

Holloway’s activity and wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in the last two years have made him a big favourite among oddsmakers.

And to make sure he’s used to mixing it up against what will be the heaviest opponent of his career in McGregor, the 34-year-old has brought in a former champion of the division.

Holloway welcomes ‘animal’ Della Maddalena

“I feel good. I feel great. As you can see, we’ve got special guests,” Holloway explained on his YouTube channel.

“We got Jack down here — Jack Della with us. A former champion, an animal at 170 pounds, so I’m excited to have him in camp.”

Della Maddalena — a natural southpaw like McGregor — was knocked out by Carlos Prates last month, six months after the Australian dropped the UFC welterweight title to Islam Makhachev.

Before facing Makhachev, ‘JDM’ had embarked on an eight-fight UFC win streak that led him to claiming gold with an exceptional performance against Belal Muhammad in May 2025.

He is ranked No. 4 in the UFC welterweight division, with Michael Morales, Prates and Ian Machado Garry, who fights Makhachev for the belt next, making up the top three.

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Inside Holloway’s training camp

As for Holloway, the Hawaiian native has been training at multiple gyms in preparation for McGregor, with his home gym temporarily out of commission.

Holloway’s performance dietician Tyler Minton said ‘Blessed’ is currently consuming around 300g of carbohydrates between breakfast and lunch per day to bulk up for the fight.

His current day-to-day programme consists of two training sessions per day with regular refuelling and rehydration.

It’s quite a unique training camp for Holloway, who has been used to cutting weight for the majority of his UFC career.

He has contested a whopping 32 bouts in his 14-year spell with Dana White‘s promotion, winning the UFC featherweight title in 2017 and defending the belt three times.

“Weight is just a number,” Holloway said last month about fighting at 170lbs for the first time.

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UFC Schedule

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“Real gladiators back in the day, they didn’t walk around with a scale. 

“You show up and you fight, and I’m a fighter. Open weight class, whatever weight class. I’m glad I get to share the Octagon with him…

“Weight ain’t nothing but a number.”

McGregor vs Holloway 2 is expected to break the all-time UFC gate record, surpassing the $21.8million set by UFC 306 in 2024.