The Ultimate Fighting Championship is suddenly and unexpectedly in danger of losing one of its biggest stars, Conor McGregor. If he really is leaving the sport, the return of Jon Jones on Saturday after 15 months away from the Octagon becomes more and more important to the organization.
McGregor has been the UFC’s headliner since Ronda Rousey’s defeat in November, devastating in the ring and funny and flamboyant outside it. Even after an unexpected loss to Nate Diaz in March, he was considered the biggest star in the organization, pulling in strong pay-per-view numbers.
Then came a retirement message on his Twitter account on Tuesday:
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya’s later.
Reaction was fast, confused and voluminous. By Wednesday morning, the message had been retweeted 150,000 times.
Many fans’ first response was that it must be a joke or troll. McGregor is a huge star, just breaking into the really big money. He was due for a rematch against Diaz at UFC 200 in Las Vegas in July that would have made him millions, win or lose.
Was the tweet an effort to hype the fight? A result of a dispute over money with the UFC? Some speculated that McGregor had been shaken because he attended a fight 10 days ago in Dublin that led to a fighter, Joao Carvalho, dying of injuries suffered in the ring, though the flip nature of McGregor’s tweet seemed to argue against that.
Diaz responded lightheartedly in a tweet of his own: “I guess my work here is done I’m retiring too.”
The next move belonged to the UFC, which announced that McGregor would be removed from the UFC 200 card, dashing hopes that the whole thing was a joke.
Dana White, the UFC president, said McGregor had been scratched because he had declined to do promotional work.
“Conor did not want to come to Las Vegas and film the commercial or be a part of any of the marketing,” White told ESPN. “Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question. I don’t know. But he’s not fighting at UFC 200.”
White said he would add more fights to the card, including one for Diaz. He also said he was open to McGregor’s continuing his UFC career, if he does not retire.
McGregor has been silent on Twitter since his bombshell.
In December, McGregor, known as the Notorious, cemented his place at the top of the sport by beating longtime featherweight champion José Aldo, at the time ranked as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. McGregor knocked him out in just 13 seconds.
Next, he decided to try to move up by two weight classes, to welterweight, only to lose by choke in the second round to Diaz. Their rematch and McGregor’s subsequent career were highly anticipated by fans and detractors alike.
It seems like a long time ago, but Jones once held the mantle of the UFC’s biggest star. He won the light-heavyweight championship in 2011 at age 23 and defended it eight times, often with insouciant ease.
But problems came outside the ring. He was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque a year ago, and was stripped of his title. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was sentenced to probation.
He returns Saturday still only 28 and still with a sterling career record of 21-1. His former championship is now held by Daniel Cormier, whom Jones beat in his last bout. But Cormier is injured, so Jones will fight for the interim title against Ovince Saint Preux. Most people think the old Jon Jones will return: He is a 5-1 favorite in the bout.
Rousey will also be returning, perhaps in November at the first UFC card in New York City. With McGregor in limbo, the UFC may need these fighters to keep its place in the sports conversation.
Categories: -Sports-
