UPDATE (10:50 a.m. ET): Conor McGregor released a lengthy statement on his Facebook page Thursday morning in which he confirmed that he is not retiring.
The UFC star stressed in the post that his extensive media obligations had become too much of a burden and that he got away from his proper fight preparations.
“I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting,” McGregor wrote. “There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.
“For the record also … I AM NOT RETIRED.”
Read his entire statement in the post below, with a warning that it includes some NSFW language.
ORIGINAL STORY: It looks like we’re finally getting some answers from Conor McGregor.
The 27-year-old UFC featherweight champion shocked the sports world earlier this week when he took to Twitter to announce his sudden retirement. UFC president Dana White called into ESPN’s “SportsCenter” hours later to confirm that he had pulled McGregor from the highly-anticipated UFC 200 card in July, but White later (kind of) reneged on that statement.
McGregor tweeted Wednesday afternoon that he was going to explain things but quickly deleted the tweet and has been silent since. Until now.
McGregor tweeted the following Thursday morning:
The Internet has fueled wild speculation since the announcement, including a popular notion that McGregor is jumping ship and signing with WWE.
Who knows if this will end the saga or not. We’ll at least get some temporary answers soon.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
