Conor McGregor doesn't think that there's anything short of death that will force him to stay permanently retired.
Conor McGregor is one of the most iconic UFC fighters in history and even though he's aging, he doesn't plan on permanently stepping out of the fight game until he's reached the end of his days.
In a recent interview with TNT Sports, McGregor cited Mike Tyson as inspiration for why he doesn't believe he will ever need to retire. However, McGregor never sees himself calling out younger competitors as he advances in age, he simply thinks it's a matter of recalibrating your competition.
"No, there's another one that I would dispute," McGregor retorted when it was mentioned that he would have to eventually stop fighting at some point. "Look at Mike Tyson. He's fighting Jake Paul, right? He fought Roy Jones, also. So, there you go. That's an older guy.
"Recalibrate your competition," he continued. "There's a reason in jiu-jitsu tournament there's veteran divisions and all this. I don't really feel like I could ever call a day to it until I'm laid out flat and in a box going down into the ground that's when we'll call it a day."
McGregor then recalled a quote from Mike Tyson in advance of the Roy Jones Jr. fight in 2020 that inspired his current mindset in regards to getting older as a fighter.
"Something that really struck me with Mike Tyson was he was asking an interview around the Roy Jones Jr. fight, 'What do you think Cus D'Amato would say to you after all these years? Why come back now?' What Tyson said, it really struck me, he said, 'What Cus would say to me is, what took you so long?' that really hit me," he reiterated. "It's almost like people get weighed down with the pressure of life. Uncertainty.
"Even George St. Pierre, when he originally retired. It's like a weight of something that helped him and they just allow them to just boom, take them right out of the game. I'm aware that that's present. I am aware that that that is present and feeling that that that thing, whatever it is," he added.
For McGregor, he looks at it like Mike Tyson with Roy Jones in that there will always be a competitor at his experience level and he does not want to try and call out up-and-comers because he believes there will already be many fights lined up for him as he ages up.
"I'm also aware that you know, rest, recuperation, recalibration. I'm not going to be 40-odd and looking at the 19-year-old wonder kid from wherever he's from even though they might be calling me out, or whatever," McGregor said. "Look at all my potential opponents. I have gangs of opponents, literally, that I could fight but I have history with. Trilogies, secondary fights, fresh fights, even. These are all similar ages to me. So, if these people are all a similar age to me, and I have an audience interested, which I do. Well, who's to say these fights won't take place whenever they'll take place? It's to the grave, my man. It's to the fucking grave."
McGregor hasn't had a UFC fight since UFC 264 where he headlined in a loss to Dustin Poirier by way of TKO in the first round.
Fightful MMA will keep fans updated on any future announcements regarding McGregor's return to fighting.
As for whether or not McGregor will ever step into the squared Circle of WWE, he recently stated that WWE does not interest him at this time. Read his full comments here.
Fans can learn more about the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul here.
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