Conor McGregor’s Retirement Plan: Win Every Belt, Burn UFC Down

Say what you will about Conor McGregor – there’s a good chance he’s already said it about himself. But he wasn’t messing around when he promised to be an active champion.

After knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194, McGregor made his plans clear: he wanted to become the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold multiple title belts. He’ll get a shot at doing just that next month when he meets current Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos in the Octagon at UFC 196. Then, if all that goes to plan, McGregor seems determined to add a third belt to his trophy case by making the jump to the Welterweight division.

“Why not go up? They get slower and they get less free up there, I feel,” McGregor told Severe MMA. “They’re stiffer, even more stuck than the Lightweight division. I’ll keep going, I’ll keep eating, keep training and keep going until fucking all the belts are wrapped up.”

At a press conference in January, McGregor said he liked the idea of holding the 170-pound title belt, and he seems determined to make it happen. Ambitious? Sure. But he’ll quickly remind you that he recently dropped all 400-something pounds of Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, better known as “The Mountain” from Game of Thrones, so doubt him all you want.

After that, it sounds like McGregor will ride off into the sunset with all his shiny belts in hand – “I’m here to win every belt, and then I’m gone,” he said. “I’ll see the game later, I’ll walk away from this game, I’ll set it ablaze, and walk away.”

Time will tell if anyone has what it takes to spoil his storybook ending between now and then.