Conor McGregor Announces Retirement From MMA
Conor McGregor announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Twitter in the early hours of Tuesday, March 26. The trash-talking Ultimate Fighting Championship star has decided to end his $200 million fighting career for the second time in three years.
“Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as ‘Mixed Martial Art’ today,” McGregor wrote.
“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!”
The 30-year-old previously vowed to hang up his boxing gloves in April 2016. By August 2016, the popular fighter was back in the ring and drew in huge numbers for the UFC franchise.
According to Forbes, 2016 was the year that “Conor McGregor ascended to levels of fame of fortune unlike anything mixed martial arts has ever seen.”
His early retirement announcement is now widely viewed as part of a negotiating gambit when he demanded and failed to acquire equity shares in the UFC.
The bankable mixed martial arts fighter will leave the octagon on a losing note. The Dubliner has not fought since he was well beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 7, 2018. The Inquisitr reported that McGregor had announced that he and the UFC were in negotiations about his return. At the time, he said that he wanted to return by July 2019. He admitted that part of the delay was due to the fact that he still wanted his “rightful shares” of the company.
@TheNotoriousMMA Your words of wisdom do truly impact me in a positive way. My Idol ? pic.twitter.com/OWFhIMbhPb
— Asim (@asimk_2000) March 25, 2019
McGregor was handed a six-month suspension for his role in the brawl that erupted immediately after his loss to Nurmagomedov. They backdated the suspension to October 2018, which means that he would have been eligible to fight in April 2019 again.
McGregor’s “quick announcement” comes after a trouble-filled start to the year. Earlier this month, he was arrested for smashing a fan’s phone outside a Florida nightclub, per The Inquisitr. Police then charged him with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief after it was alleged that he slapped the mobile device out of the fan’s hand and then stomped on it.
The Irish superstar was also arrested after he brazenly attacked a charter bus that carried several rival fighters. Afterward, video footage of the altercation went viral. The clip showed how McGregor threw a steel dolly through the window of the coach.
McGregor is one of the most successful MMA fighters of all time. Only time will tell if he is really calling it a day.
