Stop me if you've heard this one before. Conor McGregor says he has retired.
He doesn't have a fight in 2019, and if his tweet is to be believed, he won't. Conor McGregor posted a tweet early Tuesday morning announcing his "retirement" from the sport.
Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 26, 2019
I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.
I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement.
Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!
This isn't the first time McGregor has done such, and has teased the idea multiple times in the past. Fightful was told several months ago that McGregor hadn't been training MMA nearly as much since losing a 2018 fight to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, McGregor has been aggressively pursuing the expansion of his whiskey brand, Proper Number 12.
McGregor claimed this week in an interview with Jimmy Fallon (which aired hours ago) that he was in talked to return to the UFC in July.
If McGregor does indeed retire, he does so as a former UFC Featherweight Champion and Lightweight Champion, responsible for some of the most memorable moments in the sport's history, and some of the biggest box office draws to go with it. In addition, McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather in a boxing superfight that nearly set PPV records.
A short time after McGregor "retired," a statement was issued by UFC President Dana White:
“He has the money to retire, and his whiskey is KILLIN’ it,” White said in a statement obtained by MMA Junkie. “It totally makes sense. If I was him, I would retire too. He’s retiring from fighting, not from working. The whiskey will keep him busy, and I’m sure he has other things he’s working on. He has been so fun to watch. He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him, and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the octagon as he was in it. We really have never had a bad conversation since Conor has been in the UFC. You know how I feel about retirement: If u are saying it … you should probably do it. I have never been upset about anyone retiring. When a fighter feels he or she should retire then I agree they should.”
