Conor McGregor makes eye-raising retirement statement ahead of blockbuster UFC return against Michael Chandler
CONOR MCGREGOR has hit back at suggestions retirement could soon be on the cards.
The UFC‘s poster boy hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier nearly three years ago.
McGregor’s inactivity over the last eight years – coupled with his millions in the bank – has led many to believe he could soon call it a day.
But despite his 36th birthday rapidly approaching, The Notorious-old insists he won’t be walking away from the fight game any time soon.
He told TNT Sports: “I don’t think I could ever feel like calling it a day till I’m laid out flat and that’s it.
“In a box and going down to the ground, that’s when I’ll call it a day.
“It’s almost like (fighters) get weighted down with the pressure of life, uncertainty.
“You see a lot of fighters in their post-fight, even most recent with Dustin [Poirier] and [Alexander] Volkanovski.
“It’s like the weight of something atop them and they allow it then to just take them out of the game.”
The former two-division champion then cited Mike Tyson‘s upcoming clash with Jake Paul at the ripe old age of 58 as a reason why he’ll keep fighting well past his prime.
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He said: “Look at Mike Tyson now, fighting Jake Paul, that’s an older guy.
“What Tyson said that really stuck with me.
“Mike was asked in an interview before the Roy Jones Jr fight, ‘What do you think Cus D’Amato would say to you coming back after all these years?’
“And what Tyson said really stuck with me.
“He said ‘Cus would say to me what took you so long?’ and that really hit me.”
McGregor is set to make his long-awaited return to the octagon against Michael Chandler later this year.
Their showdown, which was announced in February 2023, is expected to take place in the summer – with McGregor insisting it’ll headline UFC 303 on June 29.