Following retirement claims by Conor McGregor on twitter last night, UFC president Dana White has said the Dubliner will take no part in UFC 200.
Late last night featherweight champion McGregor tweeted that he had "decided to retire young", while his coach John Kavanagh followed that up with a “fun while it lasted” tweet himself.
I have decided to retire young.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.
Although some question the sincerity of these statements, UFC president Dana White has said that McGregor will not be taking part in Las Vegas on July 9, when he was scheduled for a rematch with Nate Diaz, the only man to beat him in a UFC bout.
White said that the decision was made after McGregor informed UFC officials that he would not participate in any promotional activities, including a commercial shoot and press conferences.
“Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question. I don’t know,” White said. “But Conor McGregor is not fighting at UFC 200.
"Obviously we still have a good relationship with Conor. I respect Conor as a fighter and I like him as a person. But you can't decide not to show up to these things. You have to do it."
There is precedence for such a move by the UFC. When Nick Diaz didn't show up for a UFC 137 press conference in 2011 he was pulled from a title fight against Georges St-Pierre.
