Conor McGregor Retirement Talk 'Proper' Fake? Irishman Mocks Khabib's Family, Wants Rematch

Conor McGregor’s recent retirement announcement seems similar to what he did in 2016 when he decided to quit Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) before returning to fight Nate Diaz. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dual-weight champion looks almost certain to make a comeback – even UFC president Dana White seems to think so.

The Irishman announced his shock retirement in March and most fans did not fall for it as they called it fake. And what made it more unbelievable was that just the day before during an appearance on the Tonight Show, McGregor revealed that he was in talks over a fight later in the year.

White paid tribute to the Irishman for his contribution to the UFC and there were talks about a potential switch to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). But it now seems like the quit threat was just followed up after he was denied an ownership stake in the MMA promotion.

McGregor has been busy promoting his Whiskey – Proper Twelve – after retirement but he has not stopped his war of words with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Notorious revealed before his retirement that he wants a rematch with the Russian to settle any dispute between them, and continues to ask for it despite "quitting MMA".

The Russian, who submitted the Irishman when they met in the octagon in October 2018, has not stood down and he returned the verbal jibes with words of his own. He initially claimed that there can be “only 1 king in the jungle” after McGregor announced his retirement and they have continued since.

The former UFC champion made matters personal on Tuesday when he attacked Nurmagomedov’s family. McGregor posted a picture of the Russian on his wedding day and called his wife a “towel” before quickly deleting the tweet. However, there was ample time to capture a screenshot. And the comment is said to have been in reference to Nurmagomedov’s recent comment where he called the Irishman “a jealous wife” as he keeps coming back after saying he is retiring.

“I don’t think he’s finished,” Nurmagomedov said, as quoted on MMA Junkie. “Conor acts like a jealous wife who says ‘I will leave’ all the time but then comes back.”

McGregor did not stop with the picture, as he soon followed it up with another tweet that called Nurmagomedov a “scurring rat” and made it clear he cannot run away from a rematch. And all this talk about a rematch begs the question if all of the Irishman’s retirement talk is a "Proper Fake?"

“Don’t be scared of the rematch you little scurrying rat. You will do what you are told like you always do,” Mcgregor wrote.