What do we make of the Conor McGregor retirement fiasco?

The Joao Carvalho Debacle

Could the death of Joao Carvalho been the straw that broke the camel’s back?

The unfortunate death of Joao Carvalho, a Portuguese fighter who passed away due to injuries sustained in a MMA fight in Dublin last week, has been well documented in all the news flashes to do with MMA.

And to many fans, unconnected to the event except perhaps through their computer monitors, that is exactly what it has been – an unfortunate news flash.

But to Conor McGregor, who was seated ringside to see the fight between his Straight Blast Gym teammate Charlie Ward and Joao Carvalho, one must understand that the tragic demise must have taken on a different hue altogether.

Imagine watching a man fight and then pass away shortly after that due to injuries sustained in the bout. Imagine reliving the fight a million times in your head, wondering which punch it was that could have ultimately sealed his fate and consigned him to death.

To a fellow fighter that pursues the same dream of fighting inside the cage, especially one that is as intelligent as Conor Mcgregor, witnessing the events unfold as they did could have morphed into a far graver perspective than was was made of it by the casual media.

As evinced by the heartfelt tribute message that was posted on the Notorious one’s facebook page shortly after Joao Carvalho’s passing, it seemed that the Portuguese fighter’s manner of demise had indeed cut deep with Conor McGregor.

Did it perhaps cut deep enough that it caused him to re-evaluate his own position in his career though?

After all, he did take quite a considerable amount of punishment from Nate Diaz in his previous fight before giving up his back and getting choked out. Could the sobering turn of events that transpired in Dublin coupled with a glance at his bank balance make him decide that fighting again was just not a risk worth taking?

If the rationale for his retirement did arise from along those lines, then the final stroke of artistry that Conor McGregor provided to the MMA landscape could be a timely reminder that even the toughest of fighters in the world, are only human.