Conor McGregor sent the Twitterverse into meltdown last night as he announced his "retirement" from mixed martial arts.
What has been confirmed is that McGregor will not fight at UFC 200 in July, where he was scheduled to face Nate Diaz in Las Vegas.
"What's happened is we pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 and we're working on other fights right now," White told ESPN's SportsCenter.
"Conor did not want to come to Las Vegas and film the commercial or be a part of any of the marketing we have. He's in Iceland training and that's not possible... Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question."
McGregor sent out this tweet last night, which many thought was a hoax:
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
Which was then followed by his coach, John Kavanagh, tweeting this:
Well was fun while it lasted
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) April 19, 2016
Respected MMA journalist and regular contributor to Newstalk's Off The Ball, Ariel Helwani announced confirmed that it may not after all be a hoax:
Multiple sources are adamant at this time that McGregor's tweet isn't a joke, troll job or hoax of any kind. Reason(s) behind it is unclear.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 19, 2016
While on SportsCenter White was quick to reaffirm that relations with McGregor are good saying: "Obviously we still have, as far as I'm concerned, a good relationship with Conor.
"I respect Conor as a fighter and I like him as a person, but you can't decide to not show up to these things. You have to do it."
The move throws the main event of UFC 200 into disarray, while we will have to await further clarity regarding McGregor's future.
The media obligation has been something that McGregor has cited as being one of the toughest parts of being in the organisation. He has completed two high profile global tours in the build-up for his fights against Chad Mendes, when originally he should have fought Jose Aldo, and then eventually for the fight against the Brazilian.
"I love every single one of you here, I love the media but I’m absolutely sick to death of you" he told press after UFC 189.
"It does not come easy, it’s not just about showing up at the gym.
"I’ve been home 19 days this year, I’ve been constantly working, constantly promoting, constantly handling my media obligations as well as keeping on top of my weight, as well as keeping on top of my skill level, as well as managing niggling injuries."
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