Mystic Max vs Mystic Mac: The UFC 329 Rogan Interview Was Pure Chaos

Bro so Joe Rogan set up a video call between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway ahead of UFC 329 on July 11 and within about thirty seconds they were talking over each other while Rogan sat in the middle trying not to laugh.

A teaser clip aired between fights at the White House card on Sunday. The full interview dropped on YouTube the next day. And it is every bit as chaotic as you'd expect when you put the most confident man in MMA history on a video call with the most unbothered man in MMA history and tell them to talk about fighting each other.

Conor hasn't fought in five years. Max is coming off a loss to Oliveira. They fought once before in August 2013 when they were basically kids. And the energy between them in this interview is somewhere between genuine respect and genuine desire to rearrange each other's faces.

It's perfect.

Conor Came in Hot

McGregor was dialing in from Ireland. Full camp mode. And the first thing out of his mouth set the tone for the entire interview.

"No disrespect, Max, you're not gonna lay a glove on me. And even if you do lay a glove on me, I'm gonna laugh in your face. It's another world here against me, and it's another world at this weight. I'm gonna come out of this bout unscathed and in all glory."

Classic Conor. The confidence hasn't faded one bit after five years away. Then he went after the one thing that's been bothering him about Holloway's reputation since 2013.

"Do you know, Joe, I've sat by and listened to people claim this man to be the No. 1 featherweight of all time, when I son'd him at that weight."

McGregor has never let go of the fact that he beat Holloway at featherweight 13 years ago and people still rank Holloway higher in the all time featherweight conversation. It eats at him. You can hear it in his voice. The record says he won that fight. History says Holloway became the greater featherweight. And Conor wants to settle it once and for all at 170.

He also referenced the "they were only kids back then" argument that fans have used for years to dismiss his win over Holloway. "Oh, sorry, 'Holloway was only a kid back then,' and I was not? When myself and Max fought we were both young."

Max Was Unbothered

Holloway was dialing in from Hawaii and his energy was the complete opposite of McGregor's. Calm. Smiling. Enjoying every second of the chaos.

When Rogan asked about fighting at welterweight for the first time in his career, Holloway shrugged it off.

"Brother, this is just another fight. He keeps talking about 'weight this, weight that.' I've been the smallest guy in my gym most of the time throughout my career, so I can't wait for it, man."

Then McGregor said he'd box Holloway's ears off with his hands down. That's when Max stopped being polite.

"You ain't going to box sh**. We saw the last time what happened in boxing. You ain't boxing sh**."

That's a direct reference to the Mayweather loss in 2017 and the Poirier losses in 2021. Holloway basically told Conor his boxing isn't what it used to be and everybody watching knows it. Conor didn't have a comeback for that one.

"Relax and Be Quiet While I Speak"

The best moment of the interview happened when both guys tried to talk at the same time.

Holloway was mid sentence, responding to something Conor said, and McGregor cut him off. "Relax and be quiet while I speak!" Then turned to Rogan and said "Joe, Max is my child. Excuse his potty mouth. Excuse his rudeness, Joe."

Calling a former UFC featherweight champion your child on a Rogan interview while he's trying to respond to you is so unnecessarily disrespectful that it loops back around to being funny as hell. Rogan was visibly holding back laughter the whole time. The man who has interviewed thousands of people on his podcast could not keep a straight face because McGregor and Holloway were going at each other like two guys arguing in a group chat.

Then Conor apparently left the video call. Just walked off camera for a moment. Nobody explained why. Holloway jumped on it immediately.

"He left because he's all f*** zoomed up. I can't wait, just show up July 11, brother. Oh, he's back! There it is. Yes sir."

Rogan lost it. Holloway was laughing. And when McGregor came back on screen even he was smiling.

"Mystic Max"

The funniest exchange might have been Holloway stealing McGregor's persona.

McGregor has been "Mystic Mac" since the early days of his career. Predicting outcomes. Calling shots before they happen. It became part of his brand. And Holloway walked right into it.

"I already know this, brother. Mystic Max, brother. Welcome to the Mystic Max era. Welcome back."

Then he delivered his prediction. "Return of the Max, July 11th. A bunch of gloves is gonna get laid on that pretty face. Keep it clean for me, brother."

McGregor responded by saying he'd box Holloway's ears off with his hands down. Holloway reminded him how the Mayweather fight went. The whole thing kept escalating in circles until both guys were basically performing for Rogan who was sitting there grinning like a kid watching his two favorite action figures fight each other.

The Respect Underneath

Here's what I actually liked about the interview.

For all the trash talk and the interrupting and the "Max is my child" energy, the end of the call was genuine. Holloway looked at the camera and said "It's all love always, Conor. I just can't wait, bro. I'll see you July 11th, it's gonna be fun."

And he meant it. Holloway has always been like this. The man fought Gaethje at UFC 300 and delivered the BMF knockout of the year with the kind of sportsmanship that makes you root for him even when he's losing. He respects McGregor. He respects what Conor built. He just also thinks he can beat him and he's not going to pretend otherwise.

McGregor respects Holloway too even if his version of respect sounds like insults. The "Max is my child" line is disrespectful on the surface but it's also McGregor acknowledging that Holloway has grown so much since 2013 that people forgot who won that first fight. You don't need to call someone your child unless they've grown into something that threatens your legacy. Holloway threatens McGregor's featherweight legacy every day just by existing.

July 11

UFC 329. T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas. International Fight Week. Three weeks and change from the biggest fight of the summer.

McGregor is the underdog for the first time against Holloway. Five years away. 37 turning 38 three days after the fight. The longest layoff of his career by far. The odds say Holloway finishes him in the later rounds when the rust and the age catch up.

But Conor looked at the camera and said he'd come out "unscathed and in all glory." And the thing about McGregor is that even after five years, even after the Poirier losses, even after the leg break, there's a version of him that can still do exactly what he says he's going to do. The version that knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds. The version that starched Eddie Alvarez. The version that makes 15,000 people lose their minds when Foggy Dew starts playing.

Whether that version still exists is the whole question. July 11 answers it.

Holloway said it best. "Just show up, brother."

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