If Conor McGregor says he is “bored” with life in UFC, then retirement won’t suit him. It didn’t last time he retired. It probably won’t last this time. The fighter announced he was retiring again on Twitter on Saturday night after UFC 250.
But this decision seems far from permanent. McGregor already had one failed attempt at retirement after announcing he was done with MMA in March 2019 only to return to fight Cowboy Cerrone in January 2019. McGregor beat Cerrone in less than a minute. That fight seems to be part of why McGregor is done. McGregor seems to feel unchallenged and disinterested with what UFC has to offer.
After the Twitter announcement, McGregor appeared on ESPN to bring context to his decision.
“The game just does not excite me, and that’s that. 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.”
McGregor seemed to be in line to fight interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje or former middleweight champion Anderson Silva. But UFC hasn’t gotten those fights organized, and McGregor would apparently rather retire than continue to wait for another fight.
“There’s nothing there for me. I’m trying to get excited. I’m trying my best. And when the Anderson one came along, I was like, ‘Yeah, (expletive), that’s a mad fight!’ And then everyone said he’s old and over the hill. I was, like, ‘What? Fighting a former light heavyweight and the middleweight GOAT, and the actual GOAT in my eyes, that’s not a rewardable fight?’ And you know, you’re actually right. It wouldn’t be rewarded. I would go in there and put him away, and then what would happen? They’d say he’s old and he’s over the hill and he’s past his prime and all.”
If McGregor is tired of waiting for a legitimate challenger and for UFC to coordinate a fight with that challenger, then retirement seems like a decent solution — for now. But what happens when another star begins to emerge in McGregor’s weight class? What happens if someone emerges and appears to be a worth challenger?
If UFC approaches McGregor with a fight, a good financial offer and a worthy form of opposition, then it’s easy to imagine him returning to UFC.
