Is this the real reason for McGregor's shock retirement?

Leading UFC commentators say Conor McGregor's shock retirement announcement could be the result of something much darker than expected.

Speculation that the UFC featherweight champion will immediately retire has intensified after the UFC tweeted from their official account that they've pulled him from the upcoming UFC 200, where he was expected to face Nate Diaz.

Dana White then told Sportscenter that he pulled the Irishman from the event after he failed to appear at pre-fight events.

"Conor didn't want to come to Las Vegas and be part of any promotional training," White told Sportscenter. "He's in Iceland training.

"He felt leaving right now would hurt his training. But every other fighter on the card is coming. It doesn't make you exempt. We spend a lot of money on this stuff."

White wouldn't read into McGregor's retirement tweet.

"Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question," White said. "I don't know, but he will not be a part of UFC 200.

"We've had other instances like this where guys didn't want to do the press conference, [but] you have to. You have to do the press conference, so Conor put out that tweet (after we pulled him)."

McGregor was in attendance at a recent MMA event in Dublin in which teammate Charlie Ward beat Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho by TKO. Carvalho later died in hospital, with McGregor paying tribute in a Facebook message that clearly conveyed distress.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan said McGregor had nearly quit MMA in the past due to concerns over its inherent risks and was likely affected by Carvalho's passing.

On Monday, McGregor tweeted a photo of himself that he said was taken at Mjolnir MMA in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is scheduled to rematch Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas.

But in the early hours of Wednesday, he tweeted about his retirement and then went silent.

The three main theories about Mcgregor's announcement were that he was joking; that he was trying to leverage his popularity in a contract dispute with the UFC; or that he might be upset by the tragic death of Carvalho.

He later posted about it on his Facebook page.

"Terrible news regarding Joao Carvalho. 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. We are just men and women doing something we love in the hope of a better life for ourselves and our families. Nobody involved in combat sports of any kind wants to see this. It is such a rare occurrence that I don't know how to take this. I was ringside supporting my teammate, and the fight was so back and forth, that I just can't understand it."

But since his retirement tweet, he's said nothing.

There have long been rumors in MMA circles about friction between McGregor and the UFC, but both sides have thus far denied it. The UFC has officially announced the UFC 200 bout, and McGregor has signed for the bout. He can't be forced to fight if he doesn't want to, so he is within his rights to retire.

But if this is some kind of a ploy for more money, he lost some leverage by signing his name on the contract.

Opinion was split whether or not his retirement announcement was genuine or some kind of stunt, however his Kavanagh and a respected MMA reporter both suggested it was real with their Twitter responses.

On the other hand, his retirement would seem unlikely at this stage, considering the huge payday the 27-year-old would receive for his next bout with Diaz, and the fact that it would mean he'd go out on a loss.

Rogan certainly wasn't buying into McGregor's announcement with these comments to MMA Tube.

"Nah, he’s trolling. F*** yeah," Rogan said.

"He's decided to retire young - which means like 34.

"Unless he got f***ing head-kicked today and knocked into oblivion, the idea that he’s going to go out on a loss like that to Nate Diaz...

"Look, he’s got plenty of cash. If he wanted to retire young and step away, I guarantee you he probably made somewhere in the neighbourhood of five million bucks for the Jose Aldo fight.

"He probably made more than that for the Nate Diaz fight. I would imagine after he spent a f***load of it he’s probably still got a few million bucks lying around.

"He’s a hero in Ireland. He could always make money, he could always run a gym and be fine. But if I had a guess, it doesn’t make any sense."

Meanwhile, Nate Diaz took the announcement as a sign that he'd finished McGregor's career.

While other UFC stars thought it was just an attempt to get more attention.

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