Conor McGregor gives final verdict on possible Floyd Mayweather rematch

UFC Lightweight champion Conor McGregor has said that he is glad that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has backed out of fight negotiations as a rematch between both fighters loomed.

A MMA rematch between the two had been mooted over the last few weeks with Mayweather positing videos of him walking around in a cage recently, as well as a portrait of him elbowing McGregor in the face, while McGregor's coach John Kavanagh recently said that the fight looked like a greater possibility than he first thought. McGregor moved to distance himself from such rumours on Sunday when he took to his Instagram to clarify that he has never sought a rematch with Mayweather. "I am happy for Floyd and his recent announcement that he is out of these current fight negotiations," McGregor wrote on Instagram. "It is the reason I never seeked the rematch in the first place. I was happy for him in retirement. "My game is a very unforgiving one. It is not like other games. "I understand completely him staying retired. I will now carry on in my negotiations and see where it goes. Have a great retirement Junior. Now come here and give your old man a hug for old times sake. I'm proud of you son. Yours truly, Senior."

UFC President Dana White addressed McGregor’s timetable for a return last month in an interview with Yahoo! Sports‘ Kevin Iole , where he said that the Dubliner is targeting an August return to the Octagon but that the decision to return to the sport is ultimately his decision.

"I love that matchup (against Nurmagomedov), but Tony Ferguson is the interim champion, and Conor and I haven’t really figured out when he’s coming back and what’s going on,” White said. "So Conor has some big decisions to make here, really quick. If he waits — I don’t think Conor wants to fight until August, but if he waits until August or September, that’s around two years since the belt has been defended, and that can’t happen. "This is game of time. Time is your enemy in this sport, or any other sport. When you’re a professional athlete, time is your enemy, and we can’t let this thing go on forever and not give other guys the opportunity. "Tony Ferguson has been around for a long time and has earned his dues, Khabib has earned his dues, and the list goes on and on. So, Conor has done very well, he’s made a lot of money, and if he decides that he doesn’t want to fight again for another, however long, that’s up to him. "That’s his choice and his decision. But the belt has to move on, so we’ve gotta figure some stuff out about him in the next couple of months.”