After two years away from mixed martial arts (MMA), Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon to face off against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title on Oct. 6, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After that, there is no telling if the mouthy Irishman will opt to retire from the sport. According to his striking coach Owen Roddy, it’s all a big mystery, but his decision could rest on one big factor.
“I don’t know … I don’t think [he will retire],” Roddy told Peter Carroll on the latest episode of Eurobash (via MMA Fighting).“ I don’t look into the future to see what’s happening. Conor’s mentality hasn’t changed at all, so I don’t know.
“I always say, it depends on what fights are available, I think, for Conor,” he added. “As I said, if there is another big super fight and Conor feels like he would enjoy it, then he’ll do it. If the fans want it and stuff like that, I think Conor will take it.”
One super fight that was brought up was one pitting “Notorious” against former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight champion, Georges St-Pierre. Of course, UFC president Dana White quickly shot those plans down to the ground.
For now, McGregor and Co. will focus on trying to hand “The Eagle” his first-ever loss in the sport, all while trying to avoid the dreaded ring rust (no, not that one).
“You never know, who knows? We’re just going to focus on the task at hand now. This is potentially the biggest fight ever. We’ll go in and do that and then he’ll probably be on to the next biggest fight ever.”
Should McGregor reclaim his strap, there would be some interesting fights left fro him to ponder, but as history has shown, expecting him to defend the title right away will be the biggest challenge.
A loss, meanwhile, could mean we see the end of the McGregor era in MMA for good.