Audie Attar thinks UFC will try to keep Conor McGregor, expects final fight late next year

Conor McGregor's longtime manager Audie Attar believes the UFC will try to hold on to the Irishman after his current contract ends, but he is not sure McGregor will want the limits that come with a new deal. Attar made the comments on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and the show posted the clip on X.

"My instinct tells me they'll try to keep him," Attar said. "They want to have a great relationship with one of the greatest of all time, but if you look at what the UFC is doing, they're going younger. They're trying to cut costs and increase profit."

'He can't do BKFC'

Attar, who runs Paradigm Sports, said the main problem with re-signing is freedom. "For Conor, I don't know if he wants to be limited. If he re-signs with the UFC, he can't do BKFC. He can't just go do a big boxing match. It wouldn't be as fluid," he said.

He added: "I think there's a sense of gratitude from Dana and Hunter for Conor and what he did for the company." That was a reference to UFC CEO Dana White and chief business officer Hunter Campbell.

Final fight timing

Attar's guess for the timing of McGregor's last UFC fight is later than the Irishman's own. "I think he fights his last fight. I think it happens towards the end of next year. If he wants Max, then that's what's gonna happen. But so much happens between now and then," he said.

McGregor said at the BKFC 96 press conference in Glasgow on November 7 that his final UFC fight "has to be" a third bout with Max Holloway. He said he hoped to be back "pre-summer" in 2027, MMA Fighting reported. In July, McGregor said the last fight on his deal was slated for April 2027. Attar told Uncrowned at the time that the April date was a deadline written into the contract, not a fixed fight date.

How we got here

McGregor, 38, returned at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, 2026, in his first fight since 2021. His right knee gave way early in the first round against Holloway, and the bout was stopped as a TKO due to injury at 1:09. He later had surgery for a torn ACL and meniscus. McGregor is a co-owner of BKFC and has said he wants to fight bare-knuckle once his UFC contract is done.

In another clip from the same appearance, Attar said MMA is "in a healthy space" but needs "more breakout stars", adding: "I think it does fall more on the fighters."

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed:

• McGregor has one fight left on his UFC contract and has named Holloway as the opponent he wants.

Not confirmed:

• The UFC has not announced an opponent, date or venue for McGregor's return.
• There is no public word on talks over a new UFC deal, a BKFC fight or a boxing match. Attar's comments are his own view of what might happen.