UPDATED Tuesday, April 19 at 6 p.m. PT: UFC president Dana White announced on SportsCenter that Conor McGregor had been pulled from the main event at UFC 200, due to his unwillingness to fly to Las Vegas and participate in mandatory promotional activities.
“We pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 and we’re working on other fights right now,” White told ESPN’s flagship show. “Conor did not want to come to Las Vegas and film the commercial and be a part of the marketing. He’s in Iceland training.
“Is Conor retiring? Only he can answer that question. I don’t know.”
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Did two of the biggest names in UFC just retire? Or is it all just a ruse to get fans fired up for UFC 200?
Either way, Conor McGregor sent the MMA world into a frenzy Tuesday when he tweeted: “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ay’s later.”
Nate Diaz, who beat McGregor on March 5 in UFC 196 and is scheduled for a rematch July 9 in Las Vegas, was quick to respond. “I guess my work here is done I’m retiring too,” he tweeted just over an hour later.
Neither announcement has been confirmed and both come as a shock considering that the fighters are at the height of their rivalry and preparing for the high-profile rematch. However, McGregor’s coach also tweeted what sounded like a farewell on Tuesday. “Well was fun while it lasted,” John Kavanagh wrote.
McGregor’s loss to Diaz was his first UFC defeat as well as his first professional loss in six years. Diaz, 31, from Stockton, California, shocked the world by choking out McGregor in the second round of the fight after being a a late replacement for the injured Rafael dos Anjos.
A number of media reports have also pointed out that McGregor was present during a match a week ago, when fighter Joao Carvalho died from injuries sustained in the ring.
The 27-year-old Irish fighter was ringside at Carvalho’s fight in Dublin, and posted a Facebook message last week sharing his remorse: “To see a young man doing what he loves, competing for a chance at a better life, and then to have it taken away is truly heartbreaking.
“I was ringside supporting my teammate, and the fight was so back and forth, that I just can’t understand it. My condolences go out to Joao’s family and his team. Their man was a hell of a fighter and will be sorely missed by all,” he said.
Representatives for Conor McGregor and Diaz did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
15 Biggest Sports Scandals of 2015: From Deflategate to Domestic Violence (Photos)
Gilbert Arenas' Sexist Instagram Rant
Former basketball star Arenas invoked the wrath of the WNBA when he demanded sexier female players and suggested they dress like strippers instead of "cast members from #orangeisthenewblack."
The Sacramento Kings guard was punished by the league after he launched into a homophobic rant against veteran referee Bill Kennedy, who recently announced he is gay.
Not only did Rousey get her ass kicked and her championship taken by Holly Holm, she then got blasted for focusing too much on her TV and movie roles, and not enough on fighting.
Sportscaster Simmons' beef with ESPN went public last year when he called out network bosses over coverage of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The feud reached a boiling point in May and the parties parted ways -- but Simmons, who has since signed with HBO, has continued to criticize his former network, especially since its closure of Grantland in October.
Eighteen months after Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy attacked his ex-girlfriend in a violent assault, police photos of her graphic injuries sent fans into a frenzy, prompting many to demand discipline from the team and the NFL.
Fans feared it was the end for former NBA star Odom when he was found unconscious in a brothel last October. He pulled out of a coma, but his road to recovery has been rocky as the former Laker still struggles to walk.
Colin Cowherd Should Cancel His Dominican Vacation
“I’ve never bought into that ‘baseball is just too complex,'” Cowherd said on his ESPN radio show in July. “A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic has not been known, in my lifetime, as having world-class academic abilities."
The former MLB star-turned-broadcast analyst was suspended by ESPN for posting racist tweets comparing Muslims to Nazis. “It’s said only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How’d that go?” he wrote.
Most injuries happen on the field, but New York Jets QB Geno Smith got his jaw broken in the locker room by his own teammate following an altercation over money, $600 no less.
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NASCAR Lowers the Confederate Flag
Auto racing is a sport of the South, where many people still consider the Confederate flag to be an appropriate symbol of their culture. When the controversy over the banner hit peak publicity this year, NASCAR made the tough business decision to ban it from official events.
FIFA boss Sepp Blatter finally stepped down after becoming the main figure in an enormous soccer bribery scandal -- but it took a hell of a lot of media backlash to dethrone the futbol king.
A Penn State student tweeted the sports anchor a link to an article about the school’s fundraising efforts to fight pediatric cancer, which included the school rallying cry “We Are…”
Olbermann responded “…pitiful,” which angry tweeters took as a criticism of the school’s philanthropy efforts. As for why he called the charitable cause “pitiful,” the anchor said it was a simple rushed mistake, while saying social media is used as an alternative to “Wild West saloon brawling.”
Warren Sapp was arrested for soliciting a prostitute in 2015, hence his sad mugshot to the left. That frown was most definitely not turned upside-down when the former NFL great was canned by the NFL network.
Yes, Deflategate was 2015 -- even though it feels like years ago by this point. Brady allegedly instructed the New England Patriots' equipment manager to deflate his footballs, allowing for ease of passing and catching. He was initially suspended for four games, but that later was overruled by a federal judge.
During the big College Football Playoff bowl games on New Year’s Day, sportscaster Rome wrote on Twitter: “Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?” Apparently, there were lots of people who felt “those dorks” were cool, and that Rome’s comment was not.