In the recent history of the UFC, no man has garnered more attention than Conor McGregor. Win or Lose, McGregor has been the man on top of the sport for the last few years taking over where guys like Anderson Silva left off.
Recently, McGregor was tabbed to rematch with Nate Diaz after his UFC 196 loss and go at it during the UFC 200 pay-per-view event. It’s one that many experts believe will not only be the biggest draw for the company and MMA as a whole but possibly the biggest pay-per-view draw ever.
It appears now that the UFC’s top star is bowing out before he steps back into the ring.
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
If true and this isn’t a hack on his account, there will have to be a ton of scrambling on behalf of Dana White and the UFC.
UPDATE:
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting confirms this is no troll move or hoax from McGregor.
Multiple sources are adamant at this time that McGregor's tweet isn't a joke, troll job or hoax of any kind. Reason(s) behind it is unclear.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 19, 2016
And McGregor’s trainer tweeted this.
Well was fun while it lasted
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) April 19, 2016
UPDATE:
It appears that McGregor’s abprupt retirement also has some context with it. UFC President Dana White explained on Sportscenter that Conor McGregor didn’t want to come to Las Vegas to promote a fight and White pulled Conor from the card.