Dana White Says 'Conor McGregor Is Retired,' but Discusses Potential Return

Conor McGregor says he's retired. Dana White says McGregor is retired. Problem is, no one actually believes it—and White himself says it "makes a lot of sense" for McGregor to return to MMA at some point, per Glen Levy and Don Riddell of CNN:

"Conor McGregor is retired. ... Listen, it makes a lot of sense for him to come back at the right time. I don't know when the right time is yet. I'm trying to get to January 1. That's my goal this year, is to get to January 1 without anything blowing up anymore this year in 2020. I can't wait for 2020 to be gone. This will go down as the worst year in history, ever."

McGregor announced his retirement from MMA in June. He has not fought since a first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January.

This is the second time McGregor has publicly retired, the first coming in March 2019 amid failed negotiations with the UFC regarding his next fight contract.

It's hard to imagine McGregor would turn down another fight (or several) as long as the money is right. His bout with Cerrone was widely viewed as a warm-up for another major prize fight, including a potential rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defeated the Irishman via fourth-round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018.

The overwhelming odds are we won't see McGregor again in 2020, but good money is on him returning to the Octagon once fans are allowed back in attendance.