Conor McGregor announces he is retiring from UFC
Conor McGregor waits for the start of his welterweight bout against Donald Cerrone during UFC246 at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Mixed Martial Arts fighting star Conor McGregor announced in a tweet on Saturday night that he will be retiring from the sport.
The tweet was a sudden, unexpected announcement, one that many thought was insincere. McGregor has tweeted twice before that he was hanging up the gloves, but fought as recently as this past January.
“Hey guys, I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” McGregor said in the tweet. “Thank you for all the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”
Earlier on Saturday, McGregor posted a video of himself training in his garage. Late last month, the former UFC two-weight champion epxressed interest in several opponents in the near future. On May 28, he wrote on Twitter that he accepted a proposal for a fight against UFC legend Anderson Silva.
McGregor was once tied to a fight this summer with current top lightweight contender Justin Gaethje. A trilogy bout against Nate Diaz has also been rumored. UFC president Dana White said earlier this week that the best path for McGregor might be to wait and face the winner of Gaethje’s title challenge against McGregor nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Regarding McGregor, UFC president Dana White told reporters after UFC 250 on Saturday night that people have been acting strangely lately due to the coronavirus pandemic. But if McGregor wants to retire, White said, then he should retire.