A look into Conor McGregor’s many retirement announcements

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor is talking about retirement, again.

In a recent exchange with a fan on X (formerly known as Twitter), McGregor responded to a message stating that he has no reason to return to MMA, that he’s done it all, go and enjoy your life.

“Ya know what, you’re right,” replied McGregor in a since-deleted tweet. “Good bye.”

McGregor has talked about retirement plenty throughout his MMA career. Is this the one to take seriously? Here’s a look at other times he has talked about walking away from the sport but eventually found himself back in the Octagon.

April 19, 2016: Conor announces first ‘retirement’

McGregor was slated to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 200 in July 2016 but unexpectedly announced a sudden retirement on Twitter.

I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya’s later.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016

McGregor’s head trainer, John Kavanagh, seemed caught off guard by it all.

Well was fun while it lasted

— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) April 19, 2016

UFC president Dana White announced later that evening on “SportsCenter” that the promotion pulled McGregor from the main event at UFC 200 due to the Irishman’s unwillingness to fly to Las Vegas and participate in mandatory promotional activities.

April 21, 2016: Conor says he’s not retired

Two days after announcing his retirement on Twitter, McGregor went to Facebook to explain his frustrations with the UFC and to reverse course on his fighting future.

“I am just trying to do my job and fight here,” said McGregor in the post. “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.”

Later in the post, he shared that he wasn’t done fighting just yet.

“For the record,” McGregor said, “For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations — I AM NOT RETIRED.”

June 4, 2016: Conor calls issues with UFC a ‘publicized civil war’

McGregor: It was a publicized civil war

Conor McGregor speaks with Kenny Mayne about his decision to retire via Twitter, his public battle with the UFC over promoting his fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 200 and whether he will fight again.

In an interview with ESPN’s Kenny Mayne, McGregor discussed his side of the conflict with the UFC.

“You know, it was a publicized civil war,” McGregor said. “I was going through some things; there was some crazy stuff going on back home. I wanted to be focused on my training.

“I just wanted to do reasonable media. Then, all of a sudden, ‘Conor, it’s three months from the fight [UFC 200], we’ve got to drag you on flights to come and do a run around New York, Vegas, California, 70 press conference[s], 70 talk shows, adverts, all of this.’ I was like, ‘I only made you 400 million last week [at UFC 196, a loss vs. Diaz]. That was only last week. That fight. I know you want me to go, you know, I need to get right.”

Later in the interview, McGregor seemed keen on returning to the fight game.

“I’m committed to the fight game,” he said. ” I enjoy competition. I enjoy challenges. So if a challenge is in front of me and it appeals to me, then I will go and I will conquer it.”

The return: At UFC 202 in August 2016, McGregor would come back to the UFC in a rematch with Diaz. The two rivals would go on to have one of the more memorable bouts of the year, as McGregor would win by majority decision.

March 26, 2019: McGregor announces second retirement

McGregor once again took to Twitter to announce his second retirement, all while wishing his “old colleagues well” and promising “Piña Coladas” to his peers going forward.

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!

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 26, 2019

McGregor, then 30 years old, had last fought in MMA at UFC 229 in October 2018, a fourth-round submission loss to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. That fight was marred by controversy with a brawl taking place postfight. Before UFC 229, McGregor’s last competition had been a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

One person who seemed to buy into McGregor’s retirement was White.

“I am not treating this as an official retirement quite yet from Conor McGregor, but according to Dana White, he is.”

–@bokamotoESPN on McGregor tweeting that he is retiring from MMA pic.twitter.com/ew7KaOeSP5

— SportsCenter (
@sportscenter
) March 26, 2019

“He has the money to retire, and his [Proper 12] whiskey is KILLIN’ it,” White told ESPN via text message. “It totally makes sense. If I was him, I would retire too. He’s retiring from fighting. Not from working. The whiskey will keep him busy, and I’m sure he has other things he’s working on.

“He has been so fun to watch! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him, and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the Octagon as he was in it.”

Interestingly enough, McGregor had pretaped an interview with “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that aired just hours before his retirement tweet. In the interview, he stated that he and the UFC were negotiating a potential return to the Octagon later that summer.

“We’re in talks for July,” McGregor said in his Tonight Show appearance. “We’ll see what happens, a lot of politics going on. The fight game is a mad game. But like I said to my fans, I am in shape and I am ready.

“I have done my piece for the company. I don’t necessarily need to fight. I am set for life. My family is set for life. We are good, but I am eager to fight. So, we’ll see what happens. I’m staying ready.”

The return: McGregor would make his way back to the sport in a main event matchup with Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020. McGregor needed only 40 seconds to finish Cerrone, as a flurry of punches and kicks forced the referee to stop the fight.

June 7, 2020: McGregor announces third retirement after UFC 250

As the sports world was figuring out how to return during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC had just finished its second PPV card and fifth event in total of the year. UFC 250 was held behind closed doors at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and, shortly after the card concluded, McGregor announced via Twitter that he was retiring — again.

Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting.
Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!
Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins!
Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you!
Whatever you desire it’s yours ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Dh4ijsZacZ

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 7, 2020

“The game just does not excite me, and that’s that,” McGregor said to ESPN. “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.

“I laid out a plan [to the UFC] and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with. And they always want to balk at that and not make it happen or just drag it on. Whatever I say, they want to go against it to show some kind of power. They should have just done the fight — me and Justin [Gaethje] for the interim title — and just kept the ball rolling.”

McGregor, who was 31 years old at the time, stated that he prewrote a tweet of his retirement two weeks before he posted it.

“I’m a bit bored of the game,” he told ESPN. “I don’t know if it’s no crowd. I don’t know what it is. There’s just no buzz for me.”

The return: McGregor’s reemergence to MMA came in the form of a rematch against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 in January 2021. In 2014, McGregor TKO’d Poirier in the first round as he progressed his way to the featherweight title. In this matchup, Poirier would get his revenge with a second-round TKO in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.