Getty UFC president Dana White separates Conor McGregor and UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez during UFC 205 Weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2016 in New York City.
In classic Conor McGregor style, the UFC superstar left a cryptic message buried in his Instagram Story feed on Friday night. The Irishman known as “Notorious” is famous for using social media to hype potential fights or create speculation about his next move. In this case, Notorious wrote the caption “I’m on route” above a still image of himself holding his hand to his ear depicting a phone call.
The shot was taken from a video made by the Instagram account @hard._.fight. The clip shows highlights of Notorious’ 2016 fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City when he won the UFC lightweight title. See the Instagram Story below:
InstagramConor McGregor’s cryptic “I’m on route’ message.
McGregor and then-champ Eddie Alvarez fought in the main event of UFC 205 on November 12, 2016, for the belt. Notorious was coming off his redemption win over Nate Diaz three months prior and Alvarez was making his first title defense after taking the belt from Rafael dos Anjos that summer. The performance was one of McGregor’s best in his career, dominating most of the fight and finishing Alvarez with a deadly combination in the second round.
It’s unclear what message Notorious was trying to send to his fans with the comment. For example, it could be perceived that McGregor is saying that he’s “on route” back to the lightweight title or to Madison Square Garden. Or it could be just Notorious having fun and trolling his followers, something that he is known to do.
Watch @hard._.fight’s highlight video below:
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UFC President Dana White Confirmed That Conor McGregor Wouldn’t Fight in 2020
Notorious announced his retirement from the sport in June, however most people in the MMA community are skeptical about it. McGregor is in his prime and he has claimed that he was retiring three times in the past four years.
UFC president Dana White also believes Notorious will fight again, just not in 2020. In a recent interview with Barstool Sports’ My Mom’s Basement podcast, White said, “I’m not saying he won’t fight in 2021, but I’m telling you we don’t have a fight planned for him in 2021. But I guarantee you he will not fight in 2020. Conor McGregor is retired.”
The UFC president continued, “Do we all believe he’ll stay retired? I think most of us don’t believe that he’ll remain retired. But let me put it to you this way: I owe fighters that are under contract with me three fights a year, okay? If I don’t deliver those three fights a year, I have to pay them. Conor McGregor is retired, whether people want to believe it or not.”
There Are Several Exciting UFC Matchups for Notorious Should He Fight Again
There is no shortage of lightweight and welterweight opponents for Notorious that would move the needle. McGregor has been linked to Nate Diaz for a trilogy bout since 2016 when the horn sounded at the end of the fifth round of their second fight.
A potential fight with welterweight star Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal would be an exciting affair that has the potential to be a record-breaking pay-per-view event. There is also a rematch with Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier or a long-anticipated bout with Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson for Notorious.
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