Conor McGregor Asks Important Question

UFC Star Conor McGregor

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Retired UFC superstar Conor McGregor asked an important question over the weekend. The 32-year-old former UFC “champ champ” issued his query via social media. McGregor posted, “How the fook did I end up here?”

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How the fook did I end up here ?

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Aug 16, 2020 at 3:53am PDT

That’s a really good question.

Because McGregor couldn’t have possibly foreseen back in January how his UFC career would be so off the rails by August.

To be completely fair to the superstar fighter, no one could have possibly foreseen back then how just about everything was going be so horribly off the rails by summer.

Thanks largely to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been a wild and crazy year.

Still, McGregor retiring over the summer seemed less about the virus and more about him being unhappy with what kinds of fights he was being offered by UFC president Dana White.

So it’s fair to wonder what McGregor’s future might hold. It’s also fair to ask what just happened.


Is McGregor Fighting Manny Pacquiao Next?

McGregor seemed to imply he was headed back inside a boxing ring soon for a superfight bout against Manny Pacquiao.

That crossover spectacle wouldn’t reach quite the same magnitude that McGregor’s boxing match against Floyd Mayweather did back in 2017, but it would be just about as close as McGregor might get this side of Mayweather vs. McGregor 2.

But just as soon as everyone readied their attention for the big announcement did the potential McGregor vs. Pacquiao superfight boxing match slip back into the netherworld from where it came.

If it doesn’t happen, it’s probably over the demand McGregor seemed to be issuing a month ago to Pacquiao of meeting at a catchweight of 170 pounds.

That’s a huge ask, particularly because Pacquiao won the first of his eight divisional championships in boxing’s 112-pound flyweight division.

Pacquiao currently holds one of boxing’s four major belts at 147 pounds. So what McGregor is demanding from Pacquiao is to essentially jump up four weight classes to a catchweight in the light heavyweight division.

Pacquiao recently revealed he didn’t want to move up to 160 pounds to face middleweight champ Gennadiy Golovkin and that 154 was probably too heavy for the 41-year-old, too.

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Is McGregor Competing in a Boat Race?

McGregor seems to be readying himself for a charity boat race involving the Princess of Monaco.

All that’s fine, but in the back of his mind, McGregor has to be wondering right now whether he’s making the best decision.

Because it’s one thing to retire to move on to bigger and better things. It’s another thing to retire because your boss doesn’t bend over backward every time you issue a request.

McGregor remains right now in the prime fighting years of his life. But instead of climbing inside the cage or apparently even to a boxing ring again soon, McGregor’s going to be participating in some kind of water sports event.

If that’s truly how the most celebrated MMA fighter in history wants to spend his time right now, then more power to him.

But if it’s just because he thinks he should be able to fight whoever he wants whenever he wants, then it almost looks silly.


Time Isn’t On McGregor’s Side

McGregor is one of the biggest and best sports celebrities on the planet.

But someday relatively soon he won’t be the same fighter because time is never one the side of professional prizefighters.

Will he look back on 2020 as a smart move? Using the fleeting years of his prime to participate in water sports over UFC fights?

Only time will tell, but at least McGregor is asking himself the right kinds of questions.

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