McGregor makes 3rd retirement announcement in 4 years
Conor McGregor has announced his retirement for the third time in four years. McGregor abruptly made his latest dubious declaration yesterday morning on his Twitter account, where the former two-division UFC champion also announced his retirement in 2016 and 2019.
“Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” McGregor wrote in a caption below a photo of him and his mother. “Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”
The 31-year-old Irish superstar revitalised his combat sports career in January with an impressive first-round stoppage of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246. McGregor (22-4) hadn’t won a fight in a mixed martial arts cage or a boxing ring since 2016, but he remained the UFC’s brightest star and biggest financial draw.
UFC President Dana White has already said McGregor is next in line for a title shot at the winner of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Justin Gaethje this summer.
The UFC’s schedule is in upheaval due to the coronavirus pandemic, but McGregor was expected to get his title shot later this year, and he recently had been talking to White about taking another fight even earlier. Earlier this week, McGregor posted photos and videos of himself training for fights.
White was still willing to take McGregor’s retirement announcement at face value – at least publicly – when he learned about it at his news conference following UFC 250 in Las Vegas.
MY FEELINGS
“If Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement,” White said. “You should absolutely do it. And I love Conor. ...
There’s a handful of people that have made this really fun for me, and he’s one of them.”
Retirements are a time-honoured device for gathering attention and increased bargaining power in combat sports. From Muhammad
Ali and Floyd Mayweather to Tito
Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, countless champions of boxing and MMA have gone back on their solemn announcements whenever need or ego brought them back to the sport.