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It is unlikely that Conor McGregor will retire from MMA if he loses to Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 6. McGregor, 30, infamously staged a fake retirement in April 2016 when he wrote on Twitter, “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.” That retirement turned out to be a negotiating tactic that McGregor was using against the UFC in order to get out of publicity commitments.
McGregor Said in November 2017 that He Has ‘No Date’ for His Retirement
During an appearance on The Late Late Show in November 2017, McGregor said, when asked about retirement, “I’m 29 years of age and I have climbed to the very, very, very top and with… not with relative ease… I’ve put in a lot of hard work.” The Dubliner went on, “I’ve continued to climb and I’m still very young in the game. Although I’ve climbed to the top, I’m still very young from a damage-taking standpoint so I will continue to see where it goes.” McGregor continued, “I will most certainly compete again for the net couple of years anyway and then I’ll see where it is… I could cut it off yesterday, you know what I mean? I don’t really have a date and a time and an age because I use it from a damage-taking standpoint. How many blows have I taken? That’s the true danger in combat sport.”
McGregor’s Striking Coach Says the Irishman Will Move on to ‘Next Biggest Fight Ever’ After the Khabib Bout
But what if McGregor, the slight underdog, falls against Khabib? The Notorious MMA’s striking coach, Owen Roddy, told Eurobash in a September interview, “I don’t know… I don’t think [he will retire]. I don’t look into the future to see what’s happening. Conor’s mentality hasn’t changed at all, so I don’t know. I always say, it depends on what fights are available, I think, for Conor. As I said, if there is another big super fight and Conor feels like he would enjoy it, then he’ll do it. If the fans want it and stuff like that, I think Conor will take it.” Roddy continued, “You never know, who knows? We’re just going to focus on the task at hand now. This is potentially the biggest fight ever. We’ll go in and do that and then he’ll probably be on to the next biggest fight ever.”
Robin Black Says McGregor Is Done if He Loses
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On the otherhand, former MMA fighter Robin Black told Russia Today simply, “If McGregor loses, in my opinion, he will retire.” Black went on, “As much as there is so much for each one to gain, there is also a lot for each one to lose. If McGregor loses this fight, he will retire. If Khabib loses this fight, not only does he lose his undefeated record, but losses to someone like McGregor, when the temperature has been raised… these losses are painful, they change a fighter forever.”
Black added his theory that if Khabib wins, he would receive the same level of media attention that McGregor has attained over the years. If Khabib were to lose, Black said it would be a “loss to someone he thinks is ‘a clown,’ it’s a loss to someone he thinks doesn’t belong there with him.” Black concluded by saying, “After this fight, the winner will be immortal.”