Is Conor McGregor retired from UFC?
We round up all the latest about Conor McGregor's status in the UFC.
Conor McGregor remains one of the most enigmatic sports personalities on the planet, with a massive global reputation despite not competing for the best part of two years.
The Irish MMA star enjoyed a 19-2 professional record and grew to become the most iconic star in the history of UFC, before a defeat to Nate Diaz in 2016 led to a run of more defeats than victories in his last seven outings.
McGregor has taken multiple long stints out of the sport and his future remains uncertain, despite noise surrounding a potential comeback in 2023.
RadioTimes.com brings you all the latest updates as to whether Conor McGregor is retired and whether we can expect to see him back in the Octagon any time soon.
Is Conor McGregor retired?
At the time of writing on 17th May 2023, the answer is yes. However, those who have followed his career this far know that a McGregor retirement is hardly a binding promise.
In fact, McGregor has officially retired three times in his career, plus an informal fourth in August 2022, though it appears likely that he will return in 2023 to fight Michael Chandler in the Octagon.
McGregor was defeated by Dustin Poirer twice in 2021. On the second occasion in July, McGregor fractured his tibia and fibula and has remained away from action since then, leading to a de facto retirement that has lasted almost two years and counting.
However, reports suggest McGregor vs Chandler will go ahead before the end of the year. Both men are currently coaches on the third season of TV series The Ultimate Fighter but look set to gear up and go at each other in the Octagon.
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The history of McGregor retirements began as early as April 2016 ahead of his rematch with Nate Diaz. He called it a day but was swayed by UFC boss Dana White to engage in the contest, and he truly put on a show. He was a retired man for a grand total of 46 days.
The second retirement came along in March 2019, months after being defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. He added nine days of retirement to his rolling tally before tweeting his intention to return to the Octagon.
His third retirement arrived in June 2020 in the middle of the COVID pandemic, but the confirmation of his showdown with Poirer at UFC 257 in January 2021 capped off a third comeback.
Away from UFC, he has not fought an exhibition boxing bout since the 2017 clash against Floyd Mayweather, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him dust off the gloves to engage in one of the various YouTuber boxing promotions around the globe.
There were rumours of a bout against Jake Paul in 2021. Paul launched taunts at McGregor and water-bombed his friend Dillon Danis from the back of a car before he posted: "My team sent you a $50 million dollar offer this morning – 50 million dollars cash, proof of funds, the biggest fight offer you've ever been offered.
"But, you're scared to fight me, Conor!! You're ducking me because you don't wanna lose to a f**king YouTuber. You're 0-1 as a boxer. I'm 2-0 as a boxer."
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
