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“There’s no doubt that Conor McGregor’s one of the best in the world.” — Dana White
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two-division champion Conor McGregor is filthy rich (thanks to some assistance from this guy), so he doesn’t need to scratch and claw his way to the top in hopes of securing a million-dollar payday.
Instead, “Notorious” can pick and choose his UFC fights and only compete when he feels motivated to do so, in either weight class, assuming the power-punching Irishman makes his way back to the cage at some point in 2021.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he came out and wanted to fight somebody next year after all these different fights play out,” White told Colin Cowherd. “What’s going on with Conor McGregor is what goes on with all professional fighters when they become extremely wealthy and Conor McGregor is rich. He gets to pick and choose what he wants to do now and he’s at that point in his career where he’s got a few fights left.”
The lightweight division could look radically different within the next 12 months. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje will collide at UFC 253 in September, while top-ranked contenders Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson will undoubtedly compete at some point before 2021.
White also told Cowherd that McGregor is officially retired (for now), though failed to explain why “Notorious” remains ranked while other retired athletes like Henry Cejudo were promptly scrubbed from the charts.