What do we make of the Conor McGregor retirement fiasco?

The payday?

For a man given so much to the allure of money as McGregor is, rejecting the bumper payday that is UFC 200 seems strange

For anyone who has followed Conor McGregor’s meteoric UFC trajectory, from collecting welfare checks in Ireland to redefining the role of the modern MMA fighter in just 3 short years, they would all attest to the man’s unabashed love of money.

Whether it be to flaunt the cripsly tailored suits or the automobiles that spit fire, the Irishman has never shied away from the living the high life or the keen glare of the media spotlight that goes hand in hand with it.

So lesser than three months removed from what could yet be his biggest payday, for both him and the UFC, it beguiles as to why on earth Conor McGregor would even contemplate retirement?

Surely, if the record breaking pay-per-view numbers that UFC 100 did were indicative of a landmark occasion, UFC 200 is surely on course to better that given the up-swing of popularity that the sport finds itself on in today’s climate.

And with Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz 2 billed as the mother of all rematches, considering how popular their first showdown at UFC 196 proved to be, it espouses little logic – if any – that the Irishman would spurn the opportunity to cash in what could possibly be his biggest paycheck yet.