UFC fighter Conor McGregor surprised the mixed martial arts world Tuesday when he announced via Twitter he was retiring from the sport at the age of 27.
The tweet was puzzling and raised questions on if it was even true. And then UFC president Dana White announced that McGregor was pulled off the UFC 200 card.
Neither the UFC or the McGregor camp has said much since the announcement.
But let’s say McGregor is done with MMA. Where does he go from here? The world of professional wrestling would be a great solution and here’s why:
1. His star power
McGregor was UFC’s biggest, most popular star going into his last fight. Seven straight wins in the company, including five consecutive that ended by knockout would do that. And McGregor knows how to draw a crowd. He received a record $1 million purse in his lost to Diaz at UFC 196.
2. His mouth
One of the keys to being a great pro wrestler is an ability to cut promos. Dusty Rhodes had it. The Rock had it. CM Punk had it. And Conor McGregor has it. . He’s one of the biggest trash-talkers in MMA. With a little bit of refining — like curbing the swearing — he would be one of wrestling’s best.
3. His look
If this was 1997, McGregor would be overlooked in pro wrestling because he was simply too small. At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he’s still a bit slender now, but the rise of smaller wrestlers like A.J. Styles (billed at 5-11, 218), Enzo Amore (5-11, 200), Neville (5-8, 194) and Xavier Woods (5-11, 200) has proven that giant, muscle-bound, Herculean figures don’t have to be the norm. Plus his bevy of tattoos give him an incredibly unique look.
4. His credibility
MMA fighters have an aura of being established threats when entering pro wrestling. Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn were built up that way in the ’90s (We won’t talk about Tank Abbott). Brock Lesnar left the WWE for UFC, came back after he had a run as the champion, and is now an unstoppable monster. McGregor is still the UFC featherweight champ. The WWE has never had a standing champion make their in-ring debut.
5. These things
McGregor’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach John Kavanaugh posted a as his “new job uniform” on Instagram on Tuesday.
WWE superstar “#ComeJoinMeBro.”
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— Becky Lynch (@BeckyLynchWWE)
Conor McGregor celebrates after a first-round knockout victory over Jose Aldo in their featherweight title fight during UFC 194 at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Dec. 12, 2015 in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus, Getty Images)
Conclusion: So should he go into pro wrestling?
It’d be fun to see McGregor in the squared circle, but not until after some training. It’s like the reverse CM Punk route. Both Shamrock and Severn had dabbled in pro wrestling for years prior to joining the WWE (then WWF), and Lesnar had several years in the WWE before making the jump to the UFC.
