Third Time's a Charm? McGregor Retires Once Again

Author: Jake Rabbanian

On June 7, 2020, “The Notorious” Conor McGregor announced on Twitter his retirement from the UFC. The 30-year-old Mcgregor had a record of 21 wins and only four defeats and had a very successful career as a fighter, but the question of what provoked him in retiring earlier than most fighters is still unknown. This is McGregor’s third time announcing his retirement; along with tweets from 2016 and 2019 announcing his retirement. When the fighter announced his retirement in March of 2019, he later returned to the octagon to fight Donal “Cowboy” Cerrone, which ended in McGregor defeating Cerrone by a technical knockout after 15 months of retirement. One of his most memorable fights was when he transferred from the octagon into the ring to fight arguably the greatest boxer of all time Floyd Mayweather Jr. McGregor went ten rounds with the champion and lost by a technical knockout. The fight cost him his lightweight and featherweight belt but had resulted in him earning a huge payday of 85 million for just this one fight.

Despite this being McGregor’s third time announcing his retirement, I believe he holds a firm decision on this retirement and will not come back to compete in UFC. Even though I am not an immense UFC fan; I know that fighters endure a great deal of pain throughout each match and face excruciating injuries during and after a fight. McGregor will be turning 32 years old this July and has been a fighter in the UFC since 2013. The fighter is a former Ultimate Championship featherweight and lightweight champion and ranks eighth on UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings and number four in the UFC lightweight rankings. Conor McGregor has accomplished an extraordinary career and sustained one without any life-threatening or career-ending injuries, which is why I believe that he will not return to the octagon.

McGregor had a great career as a fighter but has another profession that he cares and wants to expand on. In 2018, McGregor announced the launch of his new brand of whiskey called Proper Twelve whiskey. The brand launched in Ireland and the United States, and the brand began to peak in 2019. Many Irish Whiskey brands sought to endorse a deal with McGregor, but he had decided to create his own brand that matched his excellence and dominance as a fighter. The fighter developed the brand under his nickname “Notorious,” which was later named Proper No. Twelve. The whiskey company generated a revenue of 750 million Euros the first year McGregor was part of it. Furthermore, McGregor is beginning to create more business opportunities in his life that will shift his focus away from fighting and stay retired.