How many times has Conor McGregor announced retirement? Explaining the Irishman's long breaks from the UFC since 2016

Conor McGregor is undeniably the biggest superstar in MMA and has been the UFC's most profitable cash cow for a long time.

Over his decade-long career in the UFC, McGregor became known for several of his quirks. Among his most infamous customs is his habitual retirement announcements. The famed Irishman has announced his retirement from MMA four times in the past six years.

The first time Conor McGregor declared his retirement was in 2016 after a highly anticipated rematch with Nate Diaz was controversially removed from the UFC 200 card. However, 'The Notorious' soon backtracked and returned to defeat Diaz at UFC 202 in August 2016.

The second time McGregor announced his retirement was about a year after losing his historic grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018. With his Proper No.12 Whisky brand flying off shelves, many thought McGregor was serious about hanging his gloves up this time.

Once again, Conor McGregor couldn't stay away from the octagon and returned to fight Donald Cerrone in January 2020. Later that year, McGregor announced his retirement for the third time. Almost on schedule, 'The Notorious' reversed his decision and returned to fight Dustin Poirier twice at UFC 257 in January 2021 and UFC 264 in July 2021.

His last fight against Dustin Poirier was a disaster. During the fight, he suffered a brutal leg fracture and has been away from action ever since. Given his long hiatus from MMA, he announced his fourth retirement via social media in mid-2022. However, he soon clarified that he was trolling his fans and that he'd never leave the sport.

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Michael Chandler claims to have a "loose deadline" for welcoming Conor McGregor back to action

Conor McGregor hasn't stepped inside the octagon since his leg snapped in July 2021. However, after an extensive period of physical rehabilitation and recovery, the Irishman is raring to go again.

Earlier this year, McGregor was roped in as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler. After the season's conclusion, the two coaches were expected to fight each other in the octagon. However, McGregor's reluctance to enter the USADA testing pool has proved to be a major hurdle.

Nevertheless, 'Iron' is optimistic about being the one to welcome McGregor back after more than two years. At a UFC 292 presser, Chandler stated:

"I can fight him tomorrow... I think every single day, everything changes with time and circumstance... I haven’t really thought about a deadline. I’ve got a loose deadline in my head that I’m not going to share with you, but we’ll flirt with that whenever we figure it out.”

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