By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the most celebrated and controversial stars in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Conor McGregor, announced through his Twitter account that he will be retiring from the sport yet again.
“Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!” McGregor tweeted.
After suffering his worst defeat in his MMA career at the hands of nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor confirmed he will be retiring from the sport in March last year.
However, 15 months after his retirement, McGregor shocked the entire MMA world when he announced his comeback fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone where he knocked out the latter in just 40 seconds in Las Vegas.
“The Notorious’” comeback performance baffled the whole UFC community and hinted at a possible rematch between him and Nurmagomedov or even a showdown against Tony Ferguson but things went the other way as Nurmagomedov set-up a clash with Ferguson which did not push through due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Known for his controversial antics in and outside the octagon, McGregor was tagged as the “most bankable” MMA fighter in the history of the UFC with his combined personality, flare, swag, and mind-games.
One of his most popular fights was against Jose Aldo who came in as the best featherweight the UFC has ever seen after successfully defending his belt for four years and winning 18 straight bouts.
Probably one of the most highly-anticipated matches in the history of the sport, McGregor came in hot and caught a surging Aldo with a left hook that dropped him to the canvass.
The win popularized McGregor as the king slayer, who ended Aldo’s reign in the featherweight division for four straight years.
McGregor will retire with a UFC record of 22-4 and was the first fighter in the history of the league to hold two championship belts.
