Conor McGregor is believed to have made around $100 million — give or take a few bucks — for fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August.
The much-anticipated boxing match was far more lucrative than any of McGregor’s UFC paydays to date, and he easily could ride off into the sunset and live comfortably for the rest of his life.
But that’s not McGregor’s style.
Instead, he’s talking about returning to the octagon, where perhaps he’ll defend the UFC lightweight championship he won from Eddie Alvarez in his most recent MMA fight at UFC 205 in November 2016.
Why? Because it’s what he loves to do.
“It is not necessarily a money thing for me,” McGregor recently told Sky Sports News. “I am passionate about fighting. Fighting is what I love to do. I will continue to do it as long as I am healthy and willing to put in the work that it takes to do.”
McGregor isn’t going to take just any fight, though. As UFC’s most popular fighter and someone who’s lost only once since joining the company in 2013, he’s earned the right to be a bit more selective, knowing whichever bout he signs up for will be a huge pay-per-view draw.
He also isn’t going to put himself in a position to get his head knocked off, unlike some other combat sports athletes who simply can’t come to grips with throwing in the towel for good.
“I will not be stupid, though. I will not notice things about myself and then continue to do it like many others before me,” McGregor said, per Sky Sports News. “It is a dangerous, ruthless business and I am aware of that. Thankfully I am in a position of great wealth. I do not need to do it. I am doing it for the love of it.
“I will make my decision when the time comes.”
It doesn’t sound like McGregor, who’s 29 years old and a new father, believes his time inside the cage is close to being up.
“I always look at the end from a damage-taken standpoint,” McGregor told Sky Sports News. “How much damage have I taken? How is my brain? How is my mental health? How is my physical body? How is my training? How is my preparation? How is my hunger for it?
“That is where I gauge how long I will do it and there is still a lot left in me.”
In other words, love him or hate him, The Notorious is here to stay.
