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Conor McGregor has retired three times in his MMA career thus far.
How many times has Conor McGregor retired?
McGregor’s first retirement from MMA took place in April 2016, the second in March 2019, and the third in June 2020.
Conor McGregor’s first retirement
Then-UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was supposed to face then-UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title at UFC 196 in March 2016. Regardless, RDA withdrew from that fight due to a foot injury, and Nate Diaz stepped in on short notice to fight McGregor.
The caveat was that the bout would be contested at welterweight since Diaz didn’t have enough time to cut down to lightweight. McGregor lost the fight via second-round submission.
The UFC planned on putting forth a rematch between McGregor and Diaz at UFC 200 in July 2016. McGregor was supposed to fulfill media obligations with the UFC in April 2016 ahead of the rematch, but he didn’t show up for the media events.
In April 2016, Conor McGregor took to Twitter and announced his retirement from the sport of MMA.
Conor McGregor’s second retirement
McGregor eventually returned to MMA and defeated Diaz in the rematch via majority decision at UFC 202 in August 2016.
Mystic Mac subsequently defeated then-UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez via second-round TKO at UFC 205 in November 2016. The historic win at UFC 205 made McGregor the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC titles.
His next fight was a TKO loss in round 10 of his professional boxing debut against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August 2017. McGregor then faced UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for the latter’s title in October 2018 and lost via fourth-round submission. McGregor later demanded ownership stakes in the UFC, but UFC president Dana White and the UFC higher-ups refused to agree to McGregor’s demands.
In March 2019, Conor McGregor took to Twitter and for the second time in his career, he announced his retirement from MMA.
Conor McGregor’s third retirement
His second retirement too didn't last long. Conor McGregor returned to MMA and bested Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone via first-round TKO in a welterweight bout at UFC 246 in January 2020.
McGregor consistently asserted that he intended on fighting multiple times in 2020. However, the COVID-19 global pandemic and a stalemate in negotiations with the UFC prevented him from returning.
In June 2020, Conor McGregor took to Twitter and for the third time in his career, he announced his retirement from MMA.
McGregor cited a lack of excitement in the game and failed business negotiations with the UFC as the main reasons behind his retirement.
At the time of writing, Conor McGregor has come out of retirement and is set to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Fight Island (Yas Island) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The UFC 257 main card will start at 7 am local time in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on January 24th, 2021.
