UFC lightweight rivals Cerrone, Iaquinta not convinced Conor McGregor will retire

“I don’t believe in it. I think it’s a bunch of tomfoolery. I don’t think he’s retiring,” Cerrone said in an interview Wednesday. “He ain’t going nowhere.”

The Irish star has been angling for a piece of the UFC, something president Dana White has said will never happen.

Cerrone (35-11-0 with one no contest) came close to meeting McGregor.

“He agreed, we agreed. Then he just went radio-silent,” said the 35-year-old Cerrone.

Needing a fight, Cerrone agreed to meet Iaquinta (14-4-1). The matchup was announced last week, less than seven weeks before fight night at Canadian Tire Centre.

“No problem,” said Cerrone, who is 3-0-0 in bouts in Canada with wins over Matt Brown (Toronto, 2016), Patrick Cote (Ottawa, 2016) and Vagner Rocha (Vancouver, 2011).

Iaquinta, 31, is also skeptical about McGregor’s retirement.

“It’s hard to tell. He’s just trying to posture for a new deal or something,” he suggested. “But I don’t think he’s in a great spot right now or as good as he makes it seem like he is. I don’t think he’s really that happy. I don’t think he’s really doing the right things. He’s all over the place. He’s got to get it together.”

In April 2018, McGregor was charged with assault and criminal mischief after he attacked a bus carrying UFC fighters — including Iaquinta — outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn. McGregor, who was responding to a perceived slight against a teammate, eventually pleaded no contest to a count of disorderly conduct.

McGregor was arrested in Miami Beach earlier this month for stealing the phone of someone trying to take his photo, authorities said. McGregor was charged with robbery and criminal mischief, but his lawyer described the altercation as minor.

“Smashing someone’s cellphone. The things he’s been doing, it’s a little selfish,” said Iaquinta. “He’s hurting a lot of people around him.”

Iaquinta fought Nurmagomedov on one day’s notice at UFC 223 last April, losing a five-round decision.

Nurmagomedov (27-0-0) and McGregor (21-4-0) are both serving Nevada State Athletic Commission suspensions for their roles in the brawl that followed Nurmagomedov’s win over the Irish icon at UFC 229 last October.

That marked McGregor’s only MMA fight since a win over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 although he lost a high-profile boxing match to Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

McGregor, currently ranked second among lightweight contenders, is eligible to return to action April 6. Nurmagomedov’s ban is to be lifted July 6.

The bans have caused ripples in the 155-pound waters.

With No. 1 contender Tony Ferguson dealing with personal issues, No. 3 Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier is facing featherweight champion Max (Blessed) Holloway, who is moving up to 155 pounds, for the interim lightweight title next month.

No. 5 Kevin Lee, whom Iaquinta beat last time out for a second time, is moving up to 170 pounds to challenge fourth-ranked welterweight Rafael Dos Anjos.

“It’s all over the place,” Iaquinta said of the lightweight division.

“There’s no clear-cut way to the top but it could be a very easy way to the top with the right performance against the right fighter in the right fight,” he added.

A win over Cerrone “opens a million doors.”

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

UFC lightweight rivals Cerrone, Iaquinta not convinced Conor McGregor will retire

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