On Tuesday night, UFC fans were shocked to find out that featherweight champion Conor McGregor had been pulled out of the upcoming UFC 200, which will take place this July. McGregor was set to headline UFC 200 in a rematch against Nate Diaz, but now the company will have to find a new matchup to headline the MMA event. The decision to pull the Irish fighter was made by UFC president Dana White after McGregor failed to show up to pre-fight press conferences and promotional events in Vegas.
Earlier in the day, McGregor had mysteriously tweeted, “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.” Being that he is in the prime of his career, most people shrugged it off and just figured he was trolling. But now, it’s pretty clear that his tweets, whether true or not, were somewhat related to White’s decision to cut him from the event.
At a press conference on Tuesday evening, White discussed his decision to take McGregor out of UFC 200. Apparently, McGregor is currently training in Iceland and did not want to come to the promotional events. White says it’s mandatory for fighters to promote upcoming matches, so when McGregor was a no-show, he had no other choice but to cut him. When asked about McGregor’s tweet, White said he doesn’t know if he is actually retiring or not.
While he’s disappointed in the outcome, White insists that there is no bad blood between him and McGregor and that they still have a good relationship. Now, the UFC will have to deal with finding a new main event for UFC 200 as soon as possible.
