Conor McGregor 'retires': Nate Diaz, John Kavanagh and the rest of MMA react to cryptic tweet

The news sent the world of mixed martial arts into a tailspin

Mark Critchley
Wednesday 20 April 2016 08:13 BST
Comments
Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz at UFC 200
Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz at UFC 200 (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Conor McGregor sent the world of mixed martial arts into a metaphorical meltdown on Tuesday night as he appeared to announce his retirement from the sport.

The UFC featherweight champion wrote on Twitter: “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later.”

Dana White, UFC president, later revealed that McGregor would not fight at UFC 200, the promotion company’s milestone pay-per-view event in July.

McGregor had been scheduled to take part in a rematch against Nate Diaz, who became the first man to beat the Irish fighter under the UFC banner last month.

White said a decision had been made to remove McGregor from the event’s card after he failed to attend a pre-fight press conference. He could not, however, confirm or deny whether McGregor’s retirement was genuine.

Unsurprisingly, the MMA community responded in shock to the news of McGregor’s potential retirement.

Here’s the best of the reaction from some of the sport’s biggest names…

McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh…

McGregor’s conqueror and scheduled opponent, Nate Diaz…

The rest of the MMA community...

McGregor and his representatives are yet to confirm his 'retirement' outright.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in