McGregor quit due to 'stupid' fight offers

LONDON • Former two-weight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Conor McGregor has expanded on the reason he is retiring from mixed martial arts (MMA) for the third time in four years, citing a lack of exciting options.

The Irishman made the announcement on his Twitter page on Sunday and while many analysts and fellow fighters have cast doubt on whether he is serious about walking away, it does appear he may be taking a break for the moment.

"The game just does not excite me, and that's that," he told ESPN on Sunday. "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."

The 31-year-old, who knocked out Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in January - his first fight since October 2018, had hoped to fight two more times this year. But the coronavirus pandemic and the UFC's inability to match him up with suitable opponents dulled his enthusiasm.

"I laid out a plan and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with," he said. "And (UFC) always want to baulk 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 (lightweight) title - and just kept the ball rolling.

"I had my goals, my plans, the season. I had everything laid out. Obviously, the world has gone bleeding bonkers at the minute. They want to throw me up and down weights and offer me stupid fights... I'm over it."

He had been linked by the media to a number of fights, including a bout against Brazilian great Anderson Silva, who holds the record for longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. But McGregor hinted the world's biggest MMA promotion was not prepared to meet his price for such a bout.

"When the Anderson one came along, I was like, yeah, that's a mad fight," he said.

"Fighting a former light heavyweight and the middleweight GOAT (greatest of all time), and the actual GOAT in my eyes, that's not a rewardable fight?"

McGregor, who first quit the sport in April 2016 and in March last year, is leaving the door open for a return in the future. His first two retirements were short-lived.

"We'll see what the future holds," he added. "But for right now, for the immediate future, 2020, all the best to it."

REUTERS