It has been months since Conor McGregor announced his retirement from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). However, he remains one of the most notable icons in mixed martial arts, and that could explain why many are hoping to see him return in the octagon.
McGregor’s possible return to the UFC is closely tied with his anticipated rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The latter defeated the Irish fighter at the UFC 229 in October 2018 with the lightweight championship title on the line.
McGregor’s UFC comeback in the horizon?
Fans of McGregor will be delighted to hear what his fellow Ireland-native fighter Will Fleury said recently. Fleury told Irish Mirror that he expects “The Notorious” coming back to the UFC octagon within the next six months. This is an interesting statement considering that McGregor announced his retirement online last March.
Fleury maintains that McGregor has nothing more to prove given his career record up until the last quarter of 2018. However, Fleury added that it would not be surprising if McGregor would later want to go back to the MMA scene, especially if the chance to fight Nurmagomedov again surfaces.
“I can see why the motivation wouldn't be the same, but with the way the Khabib fight went, there's probably a bit of a thing where he won't want that to be his legacy,” Fleury explained. Khabib sealed his win in the fourth round of their match via submission.
The UFC 229 main event became even more controversial when guys from both camps brawled post-fight. Nurmagomedov later apologized for his actions explaining he was provoked by alleged anti-Muslim slurs hurled by McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis, which he later denied.
Dana White also believes McGregor may return
Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 26, 2019
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!
Fleury is not the only one in the professional league to believe that McGregor may still return for another UFC fight. Shortly after McGregor posted about his retirement online, UFC president Dana White publicly said he believes The Notorious will still return in the game. White also implied that McGregor’s sudden “retirement” could be related to his desire of gaining part ownership of the UFC.
However, in early April the taunts started once again coming out of McGregor’s Twitter feed. “Don’t be scared of the rematch you little scurrying rat,” he wrote presumably referring to Nurmagomedov’s refusal to fight him in a rematch. Last month, Nurmagomedov explained that McGregor should win more fights first — making comparisons to his upcoming opponent Tony Ferguson — before talking about their rematch.
