The UFC announced on Tuesday evening that it has pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 on July 9.
UFC President Dana White said on SportsCenter that the organization pulled McGregor from the card because he “refused to fly to [Las] Vegas for promotional stuff,” per Jeremy Botter of the Houston Chronicle.
White also spoke with Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports:
Ben Fowlkes of USA Today isn’t buying that explanation, however:
McGregor was scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a rematch of their welterweight bout from UFC 196 in March. Diaz won that fight by submission.
The news comes on the heels of McGregor announcing on Twitter that he planned to retire:
His coach, John Kavanagh, also tweeted a cryptic message that suggested McGregor was going to hang up his proverbial gloves:
One factor in this saga might be the death of Joao Carvalho, who died after head injuries he suffered in his April 9 fight against Charlie Ward. McGregor was in the crowd in Dublin for that fight, supporting his teammate Ward.
After Carvalho’s death, he posted the following on his Facebook page:
To see a young man doing what he loves, competing for a chance at a better life, and then to have it taken away is truly heartbreaking. We are just men and women doing something we love in the hope of a better life for ourselves and our families. Nobody involved in combat sports of any kind wants to see this. It is such a rare occurrence that I don’t know how to take this.
It’s unclear if that experience has affected McGregor’s decision to announce his retirement or if he simply wanted a way out of UFC 200. Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com speculated on that front:
The UFC and MMA fans will certainly be hoping McGregor’s retirement isn’t a permanent one. He remains the UFC featherweight champion and has a 19-3 professional record and just one loss in the UFC since joining the organization in 2013.
He’s one of the sport’s biggest stars and has one of the most brash and marketable personalities, so the UFC would be losing a major superstar if his retirement is permanent. Given the unusual and abrupt way this situation has played out, it’s likely there are a few more twists and turns yet to come.
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