Conor McGregor ‘not retired’ despite row with UFC

In the past 48 hours, Irish featherweight UFC champion Conor McGregor has dramatically announced and then rescinded his retirement. He had been scheduled to face Nate Diaz for the second time at UFC 200, although that match is now in doubt.

McGregor and Diaz had traded blows at UFC 196 last month. McGregor moved up two divisions, from featherweight to welterweight, to face a much larger opponent in Diaz. Shocking most observers, Diaz stunned and then submitted the Irish champion in the second round. It was McGregor’s first loss in the UFC.

Since signing with the governing body, McGregor has rapidly become the UFC’s biggest star. With his sole loss to Diaz, a rematch was the obvious headliner for the promotion’s biggest event, UFC 200.

Although the fighters are nominally paid to fight, they also have significant promotional obligations. In the run-up to UFC 200, the UFC had planned a large promotional tour in America for this weekend. McGregor, as headliner of the event, was expected to attend. This, however, clashed with his training plans. The UFC issued an ultimatum on Tuesday: Either McGregor was on a flight to Las Vegas by the end of the day or they were pulling his fight.

McGregor failed to make the flight, and instead announced his retirement on Twitter. He quickly became the most retweeted sports personality ever.

Yesterday, Dana White, the UFC’s president, stated on Fox Sports that McGregor’s fight had been pulled from UFC 200 because McGregor had failed to meet his promotional obligations, and that, while he was not sure if the Dublin fighter had retired, the future of his career was up to him.

Mr White said: “The one thing nobody is exempt from is promoting their fights. Everybody promotes their fight. You have to do it.”

He stressed that he was not placing an undue burden on McGregor. “It’s not like I’m asking Conor to do something none of the other fighters are doing,” he said.

That evening, McGregor took to Facebook to give his side of the story.

“I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote,” he wrote. “I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting.”

He argued that the money he had previously made for the sport should grant him a “slight leeway”, and that he was “still ready to go for UFC 200”.

He signed off stating: “I am not retired.”

For now, the future of UFC 200 is up in the air. Both Mr White and McGregor have announced their willingness for the Diaz fight to go ahead, although it is unclear if they will be able to reach a compromise. One side will have to submit to the other for the headline event to continue.