Conor McGregor has introduced his retirement for the third time in 4 years.
McGregor abruptly made his newest doubtful declaration Sunday morning on his Twitter account, the place the previous two-division UFC champion additionally introduced his retirement in 2016 and 2019.
“Hey guys I’ve determined to retire from combating,” McGregor wrote in a caption under a photograph of him and his mom. “Thanks all for the superb recollections! What a journey it’s been!”
The 31-year-old Irish famous person revitalized his fight sports activities profession in January with a powerful first-round stoppage of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246. McGregor (22-4) hadn’t gained a battle in a combined martial arts cage or a boxing ring since 2016, however he remained the UFC’s brightest star and largest monetary draw.
UFC President Dana White has already mentioned McGregor is subsequent in line for a title shot on the winner of light-weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Justin Gaethje this summer season.
The UFC’s schedule is in upheaval as a result of coronavirus pandemic, however McGregor was anticipated to get his title shot later this 12 months, and he not too long ago had been speaking to White about taking one other battle even earlier. Earlier this week, McGregor posted pictures and movies of himself coaching for fights.
White was nonetheless prepared to take McGregor’s retirement announcement at face worth — at the very least publicly — when he discovered about it at his information convention following UFC 250 in Las Vegas.
“If Conor McGregor feels he needs to retire, you realize my emotions about retirement,” White mentioned. “It’s best to completely do it. And I really like Conor. … There’s a handful of those that have made this actually enjoyable for me, and he’s certainly one of them.”
Retirements are a time-honored system for gathering consideration and elevated bargaining energy in fight sports activities. From Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather to Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, numerous champions of boxing and MMA have gone again on their solemn bulletins each time want or ego introduced them again to the game.
McGregor made his first Twitter retirement announcement in April 2016 throughout a spat with the UFC over promotion of his rematch with Nate Diaz.
McGregor famously wrote: “I’ve determined to retire younger. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.”
McGregor and Diaz fought in August 2016.
Three years later, McGregor retired once more in March 2019 in what White believed was a gambit to entice the UFC to supply him an possession stake within the firm. McGregor started speaking about new fights shortly afterward, and he ultimately returned to face Cerrone in early 2020.
The loquacious McGregor has lengthy confirmed that his pronouncements cannot be taken as gospel reality. Earlier this 12 months, McGregor “accepted” future fights towards former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and long-retired boxing famous person Oscar De La Hoya with little cause to assume they’ll ever occur.
