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On July 14, the most famous UFC fighter in the world rang in his 32nd birthday, and in typical fashion, he generated some buzz with only two words. Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor “Notorious” McGregor took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a picture of him holding his cellphone to his ear. In the caption, he thanked everyone for the birthday wishes, but he also wrote: “everyone yous know the drill, Stay Ready.”
“I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready” has been somewhat of a slogan for McGregor over the years. Notorious has always prided himself on staying in shape and ready to take a fight, especially when he was working his way up the ranks. In 2015, McGregor tweeted the slogan less than a month before knocking out Jose Aldo to become the featherweight champion.
When McGregor wrote “Stay Ready” on Tuesday and shared an image of him on the phone, speculation set in for some in the MMA community. In June, Notorious announced his retirement from the sport. It was his third retirement in four years, and many believe it won’t be his last. In a recent interview, UFC president Dana White said that he believed McGregor would fight a few more times. He said, “[Conor] gets to pick and choose what he wants to do now, and he’s at that point in his career where he’s got a few fights left.”
It’s unclear if Notorious is just trolling with the post, or if he is dropping a hint of a comeback that will take place in the near future.
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Notorious Roasted an Old Rival Earlier This Week on Twitter
On July 12, Notorious livened up Twitter when he blasted his longtime rival, Nate Diaz. McGregor responded when Diaz shared his thoughts on UFC 251. Diaz gave a shoutout to Rose Namajunas, who defeated Jessica Andrade on the main card Saturday night, and he also said that he believed Max Holloway should have won his featherweight championship bout against Alexander Volkanovski.
Diaz tweeted: “Shoutout to Rose and Max they robbed max tho but [100] to the real fighters out there.”
In scathing fashion, Notorious responded: “Shut your b**** a** up.” McGregor promptly deleted the tweet after posting it, however Heavy’s Kelsey McCarson shared a screenshot:
McGregor & Diaz Have Fought Twice & a Trilogy Fight Could Be at the Top of Their Lists
With McGregor tweeting Diaz on July 12, and then two days later writing “Stay Ready,” McGregor could be trolling fans, setting up his next bout or none of the above. It seems unlikely that Notorious would hang up his gloves for good without fighting Diaz for the third time, however.
At UFC 196, the men met for the first time in the Octagon and Diaz pulled off a stunning victory by second-round submission. Five months later, the two fighters were locked into the cage with each other again, and that time McGregor found success. He won their second bout by majority decision.
Notorious vs. Diaz is a fight that many fans have been anticipating for years. And with the recent clues on social media, the match could be taking a step in the right direction.
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