Conor McGregor Announces Retirement from Mixed-Martial Arts

Breitbart ^ | April 20, 2016 | Daniel J. Flynn

[C19fan]

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor announced his retirement from mixed-martial arts on Twitter Tuesday.

The announcement follows McGregor witnessing last week a Brazilian mixed-martial artist take a beating in the cage that led to his death. The 27-year-old posting the retirement tweet while in Iceland training struck some as a strange setting to call it quits, leading to speculation of a publicity stunt or a call of a UFC bluff on money.

[bramps]

I don’t think Dana White is the type to be bluffed.

[StoneWall Brigade]

What do you guys think about this?

[chris37]

I don’t even know what to think.

Dude seems like a loose cannon or something.

[Jack Black]

Conor was recently ringside at a MMA fights in Ireland where a team-mate of his was fighting. It was a close fight that went this way and that before his team mate finally won. Sadly, the other fighter collapsed a few hours after the fight, was rushed to the hospital and died.

So, you are 28. You have made enough money to retire. You know what it takes to be competitive at the highest level of the sport, and you know some of the downsides of that, too. And you've just watched a fellow fighter essentially die in the ring.

That might make you think about things a lot. Maybe even decide you don't want to fight in the UFC anymore. Or maybe not jet off to Las Vegas to promote fights. Maybe even Conor doesn't know what he's going to do exactly.

I'm sure in the future he will explain what he's thinking in his usual thoughtful style.

MMA fighter Joao Carvalho dies following TKO loss in Ireland

[Impy]

WTF? It’s not easy to shock me. Congrats Connor.

My guess, he got injured in training and since he’s attacked people for pulling out of fights for being injured, he needed a reason that wouldn’t make him look bad and will announce his “comeback” when he’s better. If so, I don’t appreciate that.

But who knows with this guy.

[Manic_Episode]

Dana White today said that Connor missed a mandatory press conference and was subsequently removed from the card. Connor said that he was in Iceland training and couldn't go. Dana also said if Connor called him and made the press conferences he could be put back on the card.

I have to do what my boss says even if I don't like it. I put this on Connor.

[West Texas Chuck]

What? He loses the fight with Diaz and now he’s a quitter.

Must be from the stoopid uniforms they wear now. Or else them Diaz boys are worser than I thought.

[Jack Black]

Here is Conor’s official statement:

Conor McGregor

I am just trying to do my job and fight here.
I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.
I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting.
There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.
50 world tours, 200 press conferences, 1 million interviews, 2 million photo shoots, and at the end of it all I’m left looking down the barrel of a lens, staring defeat in the face, thinking of nothing but my incorrect fight preparation. And the many distractions that led to this.
Nothing else was going through my mind.
It is time to go back and live the life that got me this life.
Sitting in a car on the way to some dump in Conneticut or somewhere, to speak to Tim and Suzie on the nobody gives a fuck morning show did not get me this life.
Talking to some lady that deep down doesn’t give a fuck about what I’m doing, but just wants some sound bites so she can maybe get her little tight ass a nice raise, and I’m cool with that too, I’ve been giving you all raises. But I need to focus on me now.
I’m coming for my revenge here.
I flew an entire team to Portugal and to Iceland to make my adjustments in preparation and fix my errors I made with the weight and the cardio prep.
With the right adjustments and the right focus, I will finish what I started in that last fight.
I will not do this if I am back on the road handing out flyers again.
I will always play the game and play it better than anybody, but just for this one, where I am coming off a loss, I asked for some leeway where I can just train and focus. I did not shut down all media requests. I simply wanted a slight adjustment.
But it was denied.
There had been 10 million dollars allocated for the promotion of this event is what they told me.
So as a gesture of good will, I went and not only saved that 10 million dollars in promotion money, I then went and tripled it for them.
And all with one tweet.
Keep that 10 mill to promote the other bums that need it. My shows are good.
I must isolate myself now.
I am facing a taller, longer and heavier man. I need to prepare correctly this time.
I can not dance for you this time.
It is time for the other monkeys to dance. I’ve danced us all the way here.
Nate’s little mush head looks good up on that stage these days. Stuff him in front of the camera for it.
He came in with no shit to do that last one. I’d already done press conferences, interviews and shot the ads before RDA pulled out.
Maybe I’ll hit Cabo this time and skull some shots pre-fight with no obligation.
I’m doing what I need for me now.
It is time to be selfish with my training again. It is the only way.
I feel the $400million I have generated for the company in my last three events, all inside 8 months, is enough to get me this slight leeway.
I am still ready to go for UFC 200.
I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions.
If this is not enough or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don’t know what to say.
For the record also -
For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations -
I AM NOT RETIRED.

[Impy]

Well as many suspected, he didn’t mean it.

So this was just a temper tantrum cause he didn’t want to promote the fight?

I thought he loved doing that stuff. I sympathize, it’s a drain on his time, but he agreed to do it.

Sounds like the rematch is still off. I didn’t really want to see that anyway, he should um I don’t know, defend his belt?! He oughta stay at 145, I think he’d have trouble with Dos Anjos let alone welterweight contenders. He should fight Edgar.

[chris37]

it seemed like an oddball off the wall thing to do. Didn’t make any sense to me.

Guy is making my head spin though.

Focus up, Connor, your job is to win fights, so set your sights on that goal.

I am glad he didn’t mean it though, I enjoy watching him fight, win or lose.

[West Texas Chuck]

Conor meet Dana’s ego.

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, his is bigger than yours. And that is saying something. Now I’m sure your ass is red from getting it handed to you, but take a breath, take some time off and relax, then come back and attack with extreme prejudice the weight level where your belt lives. Live long and be gloriously successful.