Max Holloway wouldn’t blame Conor McGregor if he retires: “He never once said he’d come back”

Max Holloway wouldn’t be surprised if Conor McGregor walks away from the sport of MMA.

McGregor is undoubtedly the biggest star in the sport. He has broken PPV and live gate records for the UFC. Despite being in a funk as of late, his star power hasn’t taken a hit.

While many have been fantasizing about a potential rematch between Holloway and McGregor, “Blessed” isn’t convinced that McGregor’s return is a lock.

Here’s what he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto (via MMAJunkie).

“With all this Conor talk and saying whatever, he never committed to coming back,” Holloway told ESPN. “He never once said he’d come back. And rightfully so, he shouldn’t.

“Conor is what everyone wants to be. Everyone wants to get in this fight game, make the money, and then save your chickens. I wouldn’t even blame him if he didn’t want to come back. If you want to come back, that’s his competitive side straight doing it. … We’ll see what happens. All respect to him.”

McGregor has been out of action after breaking his tibia and fibula in a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier last year.

Holloway is set to meet Alexander Volkanovski a third time at UFC 276 on July 2. The bout will be contested for Volkanovski’s UFC Featherweight Championship.

Volkanovski is up 2-0 over Max. Their rematch was a bit controversial as many felt Holloway did enough to earn the nod but the decision didn’t swing his way.

Holloway told Okamoto that if McGregor does wind up making his return to the Octagon, he’s on the shortlist to face him.

With that said, “Blessed’ made it clear that his sole focus at the moment is on getting the 145-pound gold back from Volkanovski.