Shortly after appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor announced his retirement from the sport on Twitter.
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!
“Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today. 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!”
After initial surprise, observers of the sport expressed skepticism as to whether McGregor truly intended to leave a sport where he sets records in terms of audience Pay-Per-View figures.
Conor McGregor loves the limelight. He'd retire in the middle of the night, after not retiring during his appearance on Jimmy Fallon? It just sounds fishy - like it's some sort of publicity thing we don't yet know the details on...
— Jason Smith (@howaboutafresca) March 26, 2019
“Conor McGregor loves the limelight. He'd retire in the middle of the night, after not retiring during his appearance on Jimmy Fallon? It just sounds fishy - like it's some sort of publicity thing we don't yet know the details on...” tweeted Jason Smith, host of a syndicated sports talk show on ESPN Radio.
This is not the first time McGregor has announced his retirement. In 2016, he had sent out a similar tweet, albeit one more light-worded than the current one.
I have decided to retire young.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.
“I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later.”
McGregor is one of the sport’s most successful fighters. Of the six highest-grossing Pay-Per-View bouts, he was a part of four. In 2015, he set the record for the quickest UFC knockout in a title fight with a 13-second victory in UFC 194. He was the first fighter to win both the Lightweight and Featherweight championships in the UFC. Despite losing his last two big-ticket fights (against Floyd Mayweather in 2017 and against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018), his name brings in money and is associated with the sport’s grandest events.
Known for this swagger both on and off the stage, McGregor had made plans to return to the Octagon recently. However, he found himself in disputes with event organisers as he refused to participate in any fight where his was not the headline act.
In the UFC’s Pound-for-Pound ranking, McGregor is the world number eight at the time of retiring.
