The mixed martial arts world is still reeling from news Conor McGregor won't be fighting at UFC 200.
UFC President Dana White confirmed Tuesday on SportsCenter the company pulled the reigning featherweight champion from the pay-per-view, per the UFC's official Twitter account. The announcement came hours after McGregor tweeted he's retiring:
I have decided to retire young.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.
Fox Sports Live's Twitter account offered its reaction:
Not so sure about this anymore, @TheNotoriousMMA. https://t.co/8hZpJKlAOD
— FSLive: #JayAndDan (@foxsportslive) April 20, 2016
The Internet Palace posted the inevitable "Crying Jordan" photo:
Ireland right now after hearing Conor McGregor is retiring pic.twitter.com/2vjFCPezFR
— Internet Palace (@InternetPalace) April 19, 2016
Terez Owens also provided this gem:
Live look in @danawhite right now pic.twitter.com/hbrq8ym1wX
— Terez Owens (@TerezOwens) April 19, 2016
BreatheSport captured the reaction of fans across the globe:
Dana White reading Conor McGregor's retirement tweet like... pic.twitter.com/F6lXOwDLjI
— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) April 19, 2016
In a statement on the UFC's official site (via Thomas Gerbasi), White said McGregor declined to do any promotional work for UFC 200, which takes place July 9 in Las Vegas. McGregor was set for a rematch against Nate Diaz.
USA Today's Ben Fowlkes is a bit skeptical that's the reason for McGregor's abrupt departure:
But seriously. It's April. Fight's in July. And you're gonna tell me they're pulling McGregor purely because he won't do press? C'mon son.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) April 20, 2016
ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto wouldn't be too surprised if it's the truth:
Can't underestimate potential effect of Joao Carvalho's death on McGregor. Tough to tirelessly promote an event like 200 after that.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 19, 2016
As I said earlier, jumping into exhaustive UFC 200 promotion potentially coupled with the tragedy he witnessed, didn't add up for CM.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 19, 2016
MMA Fighting's Luke Thomas also thought it brought up an intriguing topic of discussion:
This raises interesting Qs: Does fighter have obligation to promote their fight? If so, how much? What if the fighter has done UFC favors?
— Luke Thomas (@SBNLukeThomas) April 20, 2016
Journalist Charly Arnolt reported the Irish star refused to fight after the UFC declined to meet his demand of a roughly $10 million payment to take on Diaz. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden is hoping McGregor's retirement isn't a case of the company failing to properly remunerate one of its top fighters:
UFC must be REALLY committed to their ridiculously low pay scale. Willing to lose Conor McGregor, biggest star ever, to keep costs down
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) April 20, 2016
McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, is clearly enjoying himself. He joked the fighter is making the jump to WWE:
A photo posted by Coach Kavanagh (@coach_kavanagh) on
Twitter user @ConnorJA_ couldn't help but notice the 27-year-old is now following a handful of big names associated with the professional wrestling empire:
— Connor (@ConnorJA_) April 19, 2016
WWE Creative Humor did its part to try to sway him:
Dear @TheNotoriousMMA,
— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) April 20, 2016
Come work for us.
We're lots of fun.
Just ask your UFC friends...well, maybe don't ask @CMPunk. #Kayfabe
There's still a lot of time for McGregor and the UFC to work out their differences if the two sides are truly at an impasse. And if McGregor is holding out for more money, then retirement is his biggest leverage.
Should this actually be the end of his career in the Octagon, his personality would fit perfectly in the world of professional wrestling.
