The Savage Truth: Say It Ain’t So, Conor!

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

One 13-word tweet sent the MMA internet community into a frenzy Tuesday afternoon. Thirteen is a popular number with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who knocked out Jose Aldo in that many seconds to lay claim to UFC gold. Today’s social media post could be much more devastating for the UFC brand than that left hand was to Aldo’s jaw.

The UFC has been experiencing a rise in popularity because of the visibility of crossover superstars like McGregor and Ronda Rousey. The loss of McGregor -- however unlikely it really is -- coupled with the thrashing Rousey took last November could put a big dent in the drawing power of the company that, at its heart, is still a pay-per-view company.

Luckily for the UFC and everyone in the industry I don’t think this will be a long retirement, if it even is one at all. So, if I’m right, what could have prompted this action from McGregor? Well, I have a few theories.

Contrary to Dana White declaring that he has been removed for refusing to atend a press conference, perhaps there was an injury that may have forced him out of his UFC 200 bout with Nate Diaz. Think about it: McGregor could just retire and keep his whole “I don’t pull out of fights” deal going on. He gets healthy and, voila, he’s ready to go for New York in November.

Another hypothesis I’ve seen floating around is the possibility that McGregor is squeezing the UFC for more loot. I could see this being the case, but it would be a risky way of doing business with a group of people not known for taking threats very well.

Maybe watching Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho suffer fatal injuries in a bout last week in Ireland left McGregor questioning his own mortality and the wisdom of competing in a sport that could elicit the ultimate price. If he has saved some of the stacks of cash he’s earned over the last couple of years, he may be able to ride off into the sunset.

I get that this is a shock to a lot of people because of McGregor’s age. At 27 years old, he is in the prime of his fighting career, but let’s not forget that he was ready to walk away from MMA when it looked like he wasn’t going to get his UFC shot. He was a two-division champ in Cage Warriors who was also on the dole, and he was set to hang up the gloves.

Maybe it isn’t such a stretch to understand why a fighter who has made millions of dollars in such a short time might want to stop the day-to-day grind that comes along with being a high-level fighter. Still, I can’t help but think he has something left to prove. This is one of the most confident, motivated athletes I’ve ever run across in almost two decades of covering this sport.

The fact that McGregor lost his last fight, hasn’t defended his belt and can make upwards of $100 million over the next couple years leads me to believe something else is going on. I honestly believe he will not fight into his 30s, but he has so much to gain over the next year or two, I just can’t see him passing it up.

That said, since the McGregor train pulled into the UFC station three years ago, multiple sources close to him have maintained that he was not going to be a fighter who wore out his welcome in the sport. He has a well-informed opinion on the head trauma issues that surround contact sports and he wants to lead a healthy life beyond MMA, if you believe those close to him.

I would imagine there are at least a few fights left for the Irishman. If he truly is intent on hitting the bricks, then I would imagine he’d start socking away some cash and looking at other avenues to keep his revenue streams flowing. I’m not sure there are too many alternativees that would keep him even close to the same tax bracket as he’s been in since rocketing to the top of the UFC roster.

Either way, Conor McGregor has done it again. He’s proven he is the pound-for-pound most important figure in the MMA world by turning everyone into stark raving lunatics with one tweet. I’m pretty sure this is not going to last, but if it does, I’ll be pretty sad, because these last couple years have been some of the most entertaining of my many years covering this sport.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.