A year ago today, something happened which shocked the UFC, MMA, and the sporting world alike.The then UFC Featherweight champion Conor McGregor announced on his Twitter account that he would be retiring from the UFC and MMA after disagreements with UFC president Dana White.McGregor originally had a rematch with Nate Diaz planned for UFC 200 on July 9, 2016, but that fight was pulled from the event after Notorious failed to fulfill his media obligations related to the fight.
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The Featherweight champion said in a simple tweet: "I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later." This decision completely shocked the MMA and sporting world.
The Irish fighter made his return to UFC after his fight with Diaz was rearranged for UFC 202 on August 20, a fight he would go on to win via majority decision and further cement his position as one of the world's greatest sports stars of the last few years.
McGregor has since gone on to defeat Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on November 12 to win the UFC Lightweight championship and become the first-ever simultaneous multi-divisional champion in UFC history, before he was eventually stripped of his Featherweight title a couple of days later.
Now, Notorious looks well on his way towards having a super-fight with boxer Floyd Mayweather inside a boxing ring, but in the meantime, he has had time to reflect on his retirement tweet from a year ago.
As simple as his retirement announcement was from a year ago, McGregor tweeted: "I'm thankful for the cheese."
McGregor has certainly made a lot of 'cheese' in the past year with all the success he has had, and he could make a lot more 'cheese' if his proposed super-fight with Mayweather goes ahead, as that has the potential to be the first ever billion-dollar fight.
Notorious has said recently on his Instagram account that he will be announcing his next fight very soon, meaning the next chapter of his extraordinary journey could very well be just around the corner.
