James Gallagher: Conor McGregor Should Stay Retired Unless He’s Paid Well
Bellator bantamweight James Gallagher believes teammate and compatriot Conor McGregor should not compete in mixed martial arts again until he is paid what he deserves.
McGregor recently claimed that he had retired from the sport. His announcement, though met with a lot of skepticism, came after a proposed bout with Donald Cerrone didn’t come to fruition. Many speculated that the new ESPN deal was the reason why McGregor did not take the fight as his purse would be affected. UFC president Dana White would later deny this, though.
The Irishman has also spoken of his desire to have a piece of the UFC, which White has also vehemently denied will ever happen. Regardless, many expect McGregor to fight again, but Gallagher hopes he only fights if he’s given the money and respect that he deserves:
“I hope he does [fight again] because I feel like he shouldn’t come back unless he gets what he deserves,” Gallagher told ESPN. “This is a game where you stand up for what you believe in. You have that loyalty and being Irish, it’s bred into us, you stand up for what you believe in, you take nothing less than what you deserve. He deserves a share in the company where he’s at and he doesn’t deserve anything less.
“I hope that maybe he can venture off. He’s got more money than anyone on the f*cking planet. So he can go and do a lot of fun things to pass his time. He’s got a family now. He’s a very smart man, bringing the Proper 12 whiskey, making loads of money through that and he can venture off and maybe do other things that’s fun for him.”
McGregor Is Still A Fighter
Whenever anyone mentions how McGregor has a lot of money, they always speak of how he still remains a fighter and loves the sport. Gallagher did the same as he believes McGregor will eventually want to compete.
But again, it should hinge on him getting what he deserves:
“Deep down at heart, he is a fighter and he’ll want to fight again,” Gallagher added. “But he should not unless he gets what he deserves. Right now, they don’t have the loyalty or the respect to give him what he deserves. He brought the company’s revenue up to what it is single-handedly and he deserves it. So I hope that he gets what he deserves and comes back and fight. But if he doesn’t get what he deserves, best of luck with retirement.””
