Conor McGregor Announces Retirement for 3rd Time in Career After UFC 250

For the third time in four years, Conor McGregor has publicly declared his intention to retire from mixed martial arts.

"Hey guys I've decided to retire from fighting," McGregor tweeted early Sunday morning, just after UFC 250. "Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it's been! Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins! Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you! Whatever you desire it's yours."

McGregor previously retired in March 2016 and April 2019. The first retirement lasted all of four months before he was in the Octagon against Nate Diaz. The second was part of protracted negotiations for McGregor's return to the UFC after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He came back to face Donald Cerrone in January at UFC 246.

While it would be easy to dismiss McGregor's claims as another money grab, he told Ariel Helwani of ESPN he's grown "tired" of the sport.

"The game just does not excite me, and that's that. All this waiting around. There's nothing happening. I'm going through opponent options, and there's nothing really there at the minute. There's nothing that's exciting me.

"They should have just kept the ball rolling. I mean, why are they pushing [Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje] back to September? You know what's going to happen in September, something else is going to happen in September, and that's not going to happen. I laid out a plan and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with. And they always want to balk at that and not make it happen or just drag it on. Whatever I say, they want to go against it to show some kind of power. They should have just done the fight—me and Justin for the interim title—and just kept the ball rolling."

McGregor, 31, said he watched UFC 250 and May 31's UFC Fight Night event and found there to be "no buzz." He said he was unsure whether the lack of crowds played a factor in him losing a passion for the sport.

It remains unlikely the retirement is permanent, but it may be unlikely he returns before he's able to fight again in front of a crowd.