Rumor: Conor McGregor Might Not Return To UFC

It may feel like it’s certain that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will meet undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the ring at some point, but if it does happen like it’s expected to, the future of the UFC and indeed MMA as a whole could be significantly affected.

That becomes clear when you take into account the fact that McGregor would most likely make as much or more as he did in his reportedly $40 million (by his own estimation) 2016 where he headlined three of the top-selling pay-per-views in UFC history. When a payday like that morphs from a running joke to real, it will understandably grow increasingly harder to keep “Notorious” motivated to keep fighting in the octagon for a fraction of the cost, even if he hasn’t defended a single one of his two UFC championships.

His longtime Straight Blast Gym (SBG) teammate Gunnar Nelson confirmed that McGregor probably won’t defend a UFC belt in 2017, and he may or may not call it a day after he faces Mayweather (if and when the fight does happen) in a recent interview with ESPN.com, noting that the superstar’s UFC return was uncertain and ‘depended on certain things, not just money’:

“It will depend on certain things. Money is not the only thing he cares about, at all. He does care about it a lot, but if a fight excites him and he thinks it’s a great challenge — if it’s making history and all that kind of stuff — he’ll do it.”

Yet while “Gunni” insists money isn’t the only thing his infamous teammate cares about, it obviously is the issue at the forefront of all matters McGregor at the moment. Case in point, even before McGregor’s rumored fight with Mayweather started to look realistic, “Notorious” proclaimed he would have to sit down and talk with new UFC owners Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell about having a stake in the company as its biggest face.

Nelson also stated the obvious that McGregor has enough green to last for another year, and always has a next big venture in the works to keep him busy. If he didn’t, the rising Icelander revealed, he’d probably find himself in trouble:

“He’s got a lot of money now that keeps him occupied,” Nelson said. “He can do a lot of stuff. I think he’d be all right for a year. He always has something cooking. Right now, it’s the Mayweather fight, and that seems like it’s going to happen. I think he’ll keep himself busy one way or another.

“He needs to keep himself busy in some way, because he’s a pretty hyper guy,” Nelson laughed. “He’s not just sitting around the house. If he wouldn’t have anything to do, he’d probably be up to no good. He’ll always figure something out. He needs excitement.”