Conor McGregor opens up on his third ‘retirement’ following row with UFC

Conor McGregor has revealed he retired from the UFC last year after feeling he had been "shelved" by the promotion.

The Irishman made a fast start to 2020 with a 40-second victory over Donald Cerrone but then saw his plans thwarted by the coronavirus crisis.

And in June he took to social media to announce he was hanging up his gloves for the third time in four years.

But eventually he agreed a return and will take on Dustin Poirier next weekend in their rematch at UFC 257.

And he explained to ESPN: "There were a lot of talks about me coming back, I was so eager to come back, I wanted to come back.

"The Tuesday after the Cerrone fight I had that meeting with Lorenzo and Dana and the conversation was, 'What is next?' but we didn't get the answer at the dinner.

"It didn't come to fruition and I was eager and tried to get things moving but with all the circumstances, with the year it went the way it went and it is what it is."

McGregor is again planning a packed schedule this year – and has no plans to officially walk away.

"I'll probably never retire form the game to be honest, I'll be competing for a long log time yet," he added.

"It was born out of frustration, when you're trying to get these events and get things moving and it's not happening… it felt like I was shelved, I felt like if I'd been run out a couple more times last year, not only would my skill set and my sharpness be in tune, we'd be talking $800million in revenue for the company.

"It is what it is, the past is the past. I've got what I needed to get off my chest and I feel it's been reciprocated well. We're focusing on the positive and we're in a good place."

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