Conor McGregor may have announced his retirement from MMA but UFC president Dana White believes he will return to the UFC next year.
Former UFC Champ-Champ and superstar Conor McGregor announced his retirement at the conclusion of UFC 250 last month. He expressed regret at not getting to fight Justin Gaethje while revealing that he had fallen out of love with the sport.
Also read: Dana White praises Jorge Masvidal for stepping up
“The game just does not excite me, and that’s that,” McGregor told ESPN shortly after announcing his retirement on Twitter. “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.
When pressed, UFC President Dana White claimed that he believed the retirement was legitimate. Recently however, it seems he has had a change of opinion. White now believes that a return could be in the cards next year.
Conor McGregor may return to fight next year according to Dana White
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, White speculated that McGregor’s wealth has taken him to the point where he can pick and choose what he wants. However, he still has a few fights in him and the Irishman could be back after the results of the upcoming fights.
Dana White on Conor McGregor pic.twitter.com/1RpE7txrUY
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) July 9, 2020
“There’s no doubt that Conor McGregor’s one of the best in the world,” White said. “What’s going on with Conor McGregor is what goes on with all professional athletes when they become extremely wealthy.’
“Conor McGregor is rich. He gets to pick and choose what he wants to do now, and he’s at that point in his career where he’s got a few fights left. As of right now, he’s retired, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he came out and wanted to fight somebody next year after all these different fights play out.”
Following his victory over Donald Cerrone, McGregor was scheduled to face the winner between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Travel restrictions saw Ferguson fight Gaethje instead who ended his winning streak and earned the right to face Khabib.
The title fights between Khabib and Gaethje and the highly anticipated bout between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal could possibly be the two fights White is referring to. At this point however, this is nothing but mere speculation.
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