Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to retirement of Conor McGregor

Late last night, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor announced his intention to retire from the sport of mixed martial arts and focus on his other ventures.

McGregor made this announcement on social media.

“Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today.
I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.
I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement.
Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!” – Conor McGregor on Twitter.

Early on Tuesday morning, UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, arguably the chief rival of McGregor’s career, reacted to this surprising news. He kept it short and sweet.

“There can be only one king in the jungle. Only ☝” – Khabib Nurmagomedov on Twitter.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor fought each other in October, in the main event of the record-breaking UFC 229 pay-per-view. Nurmagomedov won this fight via fourth round submission. Unfortunately, the violence continued after the bout had ended, as the two fighters and their teams engaged in a frenzied brawl inside and outside the cage. Both fighters were suspended and fined for this chaotic scene.

While not everybody believes Conor McGregor is actually planning on retiring, UFC President Dana White seems to have taken the bait. Either that or he’s pretending to.

“He has the money to retire and his whiskey is killing it. It totally makes sense. If I was him, I would retire too.” White told the UFC’s broadcast partner ESPN. “He’s retiring from fighting. Not from working. The whiskey will keep him busy and I’m sure he has other things he’s working on. He has been so fun to watch!!! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the octagon as he was in it.”

Do you think Conor McGregor is really retired?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/26/2019.