Jeremy Stephens recently said that if he currently made the same amount of money as UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, he would likely retire early.
When UFC featherweight Jeremy Stephens saw Conor McGregor’s cryptic Tweet stating he “decided to retire young” on Tuesday, Stephens didn’t necessarily begin questioning whether or not the retirement news was true or a hoax, like the rest of the MMA community did. Instead, he criticized the Irishman for not defending his UFC featherweight title even once but also gave props to him for making a large amount of money in a short period of time.
“As you guys heard last night, Conor McGregor is retiring,” Stephens said, in a video message published on the FOX Sports: UFC Twitter account. “Nate Diaz, who’s he going to fight for UFC 200?
“Successful, young businessman coming in, making a lot of money in a short period of time but not necessarily fighting some of the top guys, such as the Frankie Edgars, and some of the great wrestlers,” he said. “Or even defending his belt for that matter. I think he [should have] defended his title but hey, if you want to retire, that’s on you, that’s your personal choice, you can retire whenever you like. That’s my opinion.”
Stephens noted that if he currently made the same amount of money as McGregor, he would likely retire early, as well.
“Hell, the kid made a lot more money than I did. Sh-t, if I did, I might be out this f-cking game too.”
Stephens has a fight coming up in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 88 against former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao. UFC Fight Night 88 takes place live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on May 29. Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt headlines the card.