So Conor McGregor has announced another retirement. Back in 2016, MMA fighter “Notorious” hit up Twitter to tell everyone that he was going to take a nice early retirement from the sport.
The decision on that occasion didn’t actually last all that long before it was reversed. McGregor was lured back to action because of a rematch with Nate Diaz, who had inflicted the first career defeat upon the Irishman.
It was a Twitter announcement again in 2019 by McGregor, announcing his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts. So while some may yawn at the retirement news, others will be treating it with some scepticism. Others will be wondering in what direction he will head off into next.
One thing is set in stone and that is, “Notorious” is never far from the headlines and outside of the octagon it has been for a lot of the wrong reasons: slapping a commissioner at Bellator 187, the bus attack at UFC 223, getting arrested as recently as March 2019 in Florida for allegedly stealing and a smashing cellphone of someone who was trying to get a snap of him. That kind of stuff.
Full MMA Retirement
Is he staying away from MMA? McGregor is now in the whiskey business. He has gone into this liquor venture which seems to be going extremely well. The whiskey business should keep him entertained, doing promoting and running that.
He, of course, has the money behind him from having drawn such spectacular purses through his career, so that he can put his feet up for the rest of his life and not have a care in the world if he so wished.
So what are the chances that he stays away from sporting action for the rest of his life?
If he does so, he takes a W21 L4 MMA record with him (18 knockouts), along with the distinction of having been a three-weight world champion. Will he brush off the lure of a UFC return? I actually think this is viable for him.
He doesn’t need the money of course. McGregor really doesn’t have anything to prove and he didn’t care that he gave up a belt in his hiatus after 2016. He now has his whiskey business to keep him occupied.
But then there is the other side of things. It may not take much for someone to call him out, to get him riled up. McGregor could easily make another massive payday or two without batting an eyelid. There may come a desire to be back in the public spotlight more.
Let’s look at the options of not retiring.
MMA Return
Would he be lured back to the octagon? This is the most intriguing question about all of this. It is worth bearing in mind though that McGregor’s last success in MMA was back in November 2016 when he beat Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC Lightweight Championship in New York. It was two years later that he finally got back into MMA action when he faced Khabib Nurmagomedov in that spectacular fight.
McGregor lost in the fourth round to a submission. Then chaos descended as a mass brawl was sparked off. Both fighters received suspensions and fines for the incident. What would be the biggest bait to lure McGregor back to the UFC (aside from a major payday)?
A rematch against Nurmagomedov. That was highly touted right after the fight, but the hype died away. McGregor’s not exactly one to back down from a challenge if it was to get sparked up again. However, would he be first in line for a title shot? Top bookmakers have McGregor at odds on at 2/5 to reappear in a UFC fight before the end of 2022.
Boxing Bout
During that time away after his rematch win over Nate Diaz and his battle with Nurmagomedov, McGregor went off on a tangent. That tangent was a 2017 battle against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. It was a boxing contest which was known as “The Money Fight” in Vegas with McGregor getting a cool $30 million paycheck for his time. McGregor lost the bout and at the end of it, pretty much shut the door on any return to the sport. It wasn’t long after that though in an interview he said he would consider boxing again.
Leading bookmakers have him at 15/8 odds to get back into the boxing ring before the end of 2022 for a professional fight. Now this seems to be the most logical route for him to take if he really has retired from MMA but is still itching for a fight. McGergor has had a taste of it against one of the legends of the sport and he has the physical conditioning for it of course. However, a rematch against Mayweather is highly unlikely and it’s hard to see any big payday, therefore, happening for McGregor in boxing. It would be a matter of working his way up the ranks, which probably wouldn’t be all that appealing.
WWE
Ronda Rousey made a famous UFC to WWE crossover. Would “Notorious” follow suit into the world of wresting? After his retirement announcement this March, there were people pointing out the timing of it with Wrestlemania 35 coming up on April 7th. Bookmakers were quick to jump on that, offering even money on McGregor making an appearance in the ring at the event. That doesn’t mean a fight, just putting in an appearance.
That would be a massive coup for WWE for sure. McGregor has a fan base. He is equally loved and hated it would seem in the public eye and could make a fit for WWE. McGregor’s “Notorious” tag would no-doubt delight the wrestling fans. Making the move to wrestling would come without the pressure that would be there with UFC or boxing returns. It would be an easy payday. I found one bookmaker offering short odds of 2/1 that McGregor wins the WWE Championship before the end of 2022.
The Novelties
Of course, there are novelty markets offering some spurious options and speculations about what McGregor may do next. Everything from appearing on reality TV, to having a UK number one hit single and winning an Oscar has been tossed out there. But for me, McGregor is a public novelty, but he’s unlikely to play to novelties though.
Predictions
At the end of the day, McGregor doesn’t need to do anything. He’s been there done it. He has started off on other interests.
Before he announced his retirement though, he was hitting US media saying that he was gearing up for something in the UFC, potentially for July when his ban is over.
He seemed pumped up. But then the retirement announcement. What happened inbetween for him to close the door? Is it closed?
Still the thing to most likely pull McGregor out of retirement would be the UFC. From now to July that’s a long time for negotiations and offers to happen. Life happens.
Have we seen the last of “Notorious” in a fighting capacity? Time will tell.
