Conor McGregor will turn 36 years old in a month. He hasn't fought in nearly three full years. In the last five years, he's fought three times. When light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira steps into the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena on June 29 to defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka in the new main event of UFC 303, it will be his third fight in 71/2 months.
At one point in his career, it was McGregor who would step up to save a show, or fight his way through injury, insisting the show must go on. He was young, hungry and oh so talented. He loved to fight, he knew it could make him rich and they almost had to throw him out of the gym.
Now, he's a millionaire many times over. He owns a percentage of his own fight promotion, and he can make money will others take the punches and suffer that aches and pains and angst that comes with being a professional prize fighter.
He's lost three of his last four and four of his last seven in MMA and four of his last five if he you throw in his 2017 knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. He's highly unlikely to rediscover the speed, the quickness, the hunger and the motivation that once made him the King of MMA. He worked harder than anyone else, both in training and while promoting.
There were book deals and movie offers and business opportunities. NFL owners wanted to shake his hand. Other athletes would react like fan boys when they saw him. During minicamp last week, San Francisco 49ers players were imitating him as they returned to their locker room after practice.
He literally became a cultural icon. He appeared at halftime of NBA games and threw out first pitches at Major League Baseball games. He was a star and he lived it to the fullest.
He had to pull out of UFC 303 with Michael Chandler on Thursday due to an unspecified injury. Who knows how long it's going to take for him to rehabilitate? It's pointless to guess, because we don't know what it is. But it seems like extremely wishful thinking to believe he'll ever fight again.
The UFC is good at rearranging things on the fly, so maybe they can make one more adjustment, this time to International Fight Week. They should induct McGregor into the UFC Hall of Fame during the IFW ceremony on June 27.
That will recognize him for his extraordinary contributions to the UFC, and it will provide the fans who made the trek to Las Vegas an opportunity to see him, hear from him and share their love for him one last time.
He's not so old that he couldn't be successful if his body would allow. I get the sense, though, that this is more about motivation and him just struggling to go out and do the dirty work it takes to be an elite fighter.
The one-time middleweight boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler was once asked why he lost his edge. He responded, "It's hard to do road work at 5 a.m. when you're sleeping in silk pajamas."
McGregor has enough money to light his cigars with $20 bills. He's probably cornered the market on silk pajamas.
He's made history. He's earned his money. He's set his records. He created a persona which will never be forgotten.
It's easy to turn the alarm off when you're surrounded by luxury and your family is set for life. He's got a staff who jumps at his orders and he has assistants who cater to his every whim.
Being a fighter, a successful one, is hard. The body takes a pounding during an eight- or 10-week MMA training camp. And while he's different than most of us, McGregor is still human. And when it hurts and the hurt doesn't go away, you have no doubt that in his quiet moments, he's asking himself what he's doing this for.
He may surprise us and come back for one last go. The problem is, he's a prideful guy and while he hates the way he went out, carried out of the Octagon on a stretcher and having lost so many fights, he also is smart. And he knows what his edge was before: He was willing to go to lengths in camp that others weren't. It's what made him great.
The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' "
McGregor has been there and suffered in silence as he chased greatness. Fighting is a young man's game and McGregor's already had his moments.
I say he's done, and I'm betting he knows it.
It's going to be an upset of massive proportions to ever see him in the cage again.
The time to suffer in training is over. The time to enjoy the silk pajamas is now.