Despite claiming to be retired from professional competition, Conor McGregor has once again teased a return to MMA.
Although McGregor announced back in June that he was calling time on his illustrious career, fans of the sport will know we’ve been down this road before. The Irishman famously retired on Twitter during negotiations for his rematch with Nate Diaz, only to make a U-turn and come back to defeat the Californian at UFC 202.
After revealing his intentions to fight on numerous occasions in 2020, his plans were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the UFC were unable to come to an agreement over a fight. Unhappy with his employers after they refused to sanction a bout with Interim champ Justin Gaethje, McGregor decided he was out, announcing for the third time that his days as a professional MMA fighter are over.
But after BT Sport posted a picture of the Diaz brothers, McGregor sent Twittersphere into meltdown with a simple 3-word response: “Line them up,” read the Tweet.
Whether or not McGregor is serious about the bouts is anyone’s guess. The former dual champion is known to put his name out there to stay in the news, but his history with the Diaz brothers – in particular Nate, who he’s fought twice already – would suggest there’s still some interest in facing off at least one more time.
While Nate is currently in talks over a rematch with BMF champ Jorge Masvidal, older brother Nick’s recent announcement that he intends to make a comeback could mean the McGregor/Diaz rivalry is far from over.
All of these are hypotheticals. In the world of MMA anything can happen, but one thing’s for sure: if McGregor does decide to make his comeback, there’ll be no shortage of interesting match-ups waiting for him when he returns to the cage.