Dana White Says Conor McGregor Is Retired: We Talk About Family, Not Fighting

UFC President Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto (h/t Charlie Moynihan) on Thursday that Conor McGregor was in fact retired and that any conversations between the two men "are about family and not fighting."

McGregor announced in June that he was retiring from fighting. 

"The game just does not excite me, and that's that," he told ESPN's Ariel Helwani at the time. "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.

McGregor added that he was frustrated with the UFC rejecting whatever ideas for fights he presented.

"I laid out a plan and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with," he said. "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 [Gaethje] for the interim title—and just kept the ball rolling."

So for at least the time being, McGregor's fighting days are behind him. But given his forays into boxing and his knack for self-promotion, it wouldn't surprise most MMA fans if he eventually made a grand and much-hyped comeback.