Conor McGregor has a reputation for being something of a wind-up merchant, stirring trouble between other fighters, his own opponents and causing chaos among fans. He has been at it again recently sending out a tweet that announced his retirement from the industry. It did come as a massive shock and fans, who were severely disappointed. However, there was no room for misinterpretation as the two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder clearly quit the sport. Just days later, as freetips.com report,s he did a complete 360 and announced his next fight, leaving fans reeling.
To be fair, it is something that perhaps should have been taken with a pinch of salt as this is the second time he has done this. In 2016 he also announced he was retiring and just a few days afterwards he returned to fight again. Whether these are publicity stunts or just his sense of humor, no one is quite sure, but fans will be excited at the prospect of another meeting between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
It would be something of an overstatement to say that the pair are friends, there is certainly no love lost as they seem to share a bitter rivalry and intense dislike of each other. Recently a series of angry, rant-like tweets between the pair caught the attention of the public, many of the nasty comments were later removed. The speculation is that the humiliating defeated that McGregor suffered at the hands of Nurmagomedov in October in a UFC lightweight title fight will prevent him leaving the sport until he has righted the balance as he sees it.
Appearing recently on American television, after the resignation tweet, McGregor admitted to the host that there were negotiations in place to secure a fight for July. In a hostile tweet after the program, he seemed to send a veiled threat to Nurmagomedov. “I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds. All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all. Now see you in the Octagon.” UFC President Dana White waded in after the Twitter war broke out and asked them to stop and considered their professionalism, ordering both sides to remove tweets and cease the fight in public. Some, but not all tweets did disappear after this.
After his defeat, there was a post-match brawl that caused a lot of grief and got McGregor a $50,000 fine and suspension from for his part in the scuffle. It would seem that the unfinished business between the pair can no longer wait, and he has also stated his intention of setting up a bare-knuckle fight with former boxer Paulie Malignaggi, who is also someone who does not see eye-to-eye with the star. Some have suggested that the latter is an attempt to get an ownership stake secured in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promtion.