Conor McGregor is stepping out of the Octagon. The UFC star announced his retirement in the early hours of Tuesday, March 26.
“Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as ‘Mixed Martial Art’ today,” the 30-year-old tweeted. “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!”
The Dublin native, who is nicknamed “The Notorious,” abruptly shared his decision just a few hours after teasing his plans for an upcoming fight.
“My next fight, we’re in talks for July. We’ll see what happens,” he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, March 25. “A lot of politics going on. The fight game is a mad game, but as I said, again to my fans, I am in shape and I am ready.”
That said, McGregor added during the interview, “I have done my piece for the company. I don’t necessary 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.”
As of Tuesday, the 5-foot-9 champ was ranked eighth on the UFC pound-for-pound list. He had a record of 21-4 with belts in two divisions.
“He has the money to retire, and his [Proper 12] whiskey is killin’ it,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN. “It totally makes sense. If I was him, I would retire too. He’s retiring from fighting. Not from working. … I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the Octagon as he was in it.”
McGregor previously announced plans to retire in April 2016, but he returned to the ring a month later to fight his rival Nate Diaz.
The athlete, who shares 22-month-old son Conor Jr. and 2-month-old daughter Croia with longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin, found himself in legal trouble earlier this month when he was arrested for allegedly smashing a fan’s phone outside a Miami Beach hotel. He was previously arrested in April 2018 after throwing a dolly through the window of a charter bus.
