Conor McGregor’s MMA career apparently is over.
Yeah, we’ll see about that.
The 31-year-old announced his retirement in a tweet late Saturday night. McGregor thanked his fans and family for for all of his “amazing memories.”
Take a look:
Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting.
Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!
Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins!
Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you!
Whatever you desire it’s yours ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Dh4ijsZacZ— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 7, 2020
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani spoke to McGregor about the tweet.
“The game just does not excite me, and that’s that,” McGregor told Helwani. “All this waiting around. There’s nothing happening. I’m going through opponent options, and there’s nothing really there at the minute. There’s nothing that’s exciting me.
“They should have just kept the ball rolling. I mean, why are they pushing (Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje) back to September? You know what’s going to happen in September, something else is going to happen in September, and that’s not going to happen. I laid out a plan and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with. And they always want to balk at that and not make it happen or just drag it on. Whatever I say, they want to go against it to show some kind of power. They should have just done the fight — me and Justin for the interim title — and just kept the ball rolling.”
Added McGregor: “I’m a bit bored of the game.”
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Dana White reacted to McGregor’s announcement shortly after UFC 250. The UFC president said he is facing similar pressure from fighters Jon Jones Jorge Masvidal to deliver the fights they want.
“Nobody is pressuring anybody to fight,” White said, via ESPN. “And if Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement — 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.
” … If that’s what Conor is feeling right now — Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal, I feel you. It’s not like I’m going, ‘Holy s—, this is crazy, this is nuts. Nothing is crazy and nuts right now, because everything is crazy and nuts right now, on a certain level. I totally understand it and get it.”
Whether McGregor’s UFC career truly is over remains to be seen. This is his third retirement announcement in four years.
However, given the fame and money McGregor has gained during his professional career, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he really has lost the fire necessary to compete at the highest level.
