Conor McGregor Says He’ll Fight at UFC 200

Conor McGregor’s UFC retirement lasted all of 48 hours, so it’s not surprising that it only took him five days for him to be reinstated.

At least, that’s according to McGregor, who announced early Monday morning that his UFC 200 rematch with Nate Diaz is back on – and his issues with the promotional schedule surrounding the event apparently settled. There’s still been no official confirmation from UFC on the matter.

“Happy to announce that I am back on UFC 200!” McGregor wrote on Twitter. “Shout out to [UFC President] Dana White and [UFC CEO] Lorenzo Fertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect.”

Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200!
Shout out to @danawhite and @lorenzofertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 25, 2016

Last week, McGregor threw plans for the event out the window when he abruptly announced, “I have decided to retire young.” In an interview on SportsCenter, White said he didn’t know if his high-profile fighter was actually walking away from the Octagon, but he was definitely off the card for July 9’s UFC 200, after refusing to break his training camp in Iceland to fly to Las Vegas and promote the event.

Later, the brash Irish brawler ripped UFC’s promo schedule and said his success had earned him a little leeway when it comes to working the media rounds. He also let it be known that he was not, in fact, actually retiring and had attempted to appease the company by offering to travel to New York for a press conference closer to the event.

“I am still ready to go for UFC 200,” his statement read. “I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions. If this is not enough, or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don’t know what to say.”

McGregor did not show at Friday’s UFC 200 press conference in Las Vegas, where White went to great lengths to single out all the fighters who had taken a break in training to make the contractually obligated promotional appearance. When he announced plans to find a new opponent for Diaz, the partisan crowd booed – meanwhile, Diaz proclaimed that he only wanted to fight Mac at the event.

At the time, McGregor remained resolute, posting a photo of him standing on the streets of Reykjavik, along with a caption that read, “I’ve got my bills paid. My money made. And the entire game slayed. #YourMove.”

 

I’ve got my bills paid. My money made. And the entire game slayed. #YourMove

A photo posted by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Apr 21, 2016 at 5:11pm PDT

Guess that move has been made? It’s not clear what kind of agreement had been reached between McGregor and UFC, but with hype surrounding the fight at an all-time high, you had to think both sides would eventually come to an understanding. What a difference a weekend makes.