Katie Taylor’s retirement lasted less than a day before Conor McGregor started campaigning against it. The former two-division UFC champion took to social media hours after Taylor’s farewell victory at Croke Park, urging her to reconsider walking away.
McGregor watched Taylor close out her career on home soil — in the exact stadium he has dreamed of headlining for years — and walked away convinced she still has more left to give the combat sports community.
Conor McGregor Sends Message to Katie Taylor
Watching Taylor headline the 83,000-seat stadium carries a deeper meaning for “The Notorious,” as it brings together his favorite Irish boxer and his dream venue. However, this spectacle comes at a frustrating time for the former two-division champion’s own career.
McGregor finally made his long-awaited UFC return this past July at International Fight Week (IFW) for UFC 329, but the comeback ended in disaster. He suffered a severe ACL tear just 69 seconds into his fight against Max Holloway. Now sidelined for a year, McGregor is stuck lacing up for a long recovery while mapping out a final “Last Dance” return next summer.
Seeing Taylor capture the magic of a packed Croke Park clearly left him hungry to see her stay in the game while he fights to get back into it. He wrote on X, “Fantastic scenes in Croke Park, Ireland for Katie Taylor’s most recent fight. She looked better than ever! Younger, fresher, renewed like the eagles!”
Fantastic scenes in Croke Park, Ireland for Katie Taylor’s most recent fight! 🇮🇪
She looked better than ever! Younger, fresher, renewed like the eagles!
ALL HAIL KING JESUS! #GoAgainKatie #OneMoreTune #RetirementPostponed #JesusReigns
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 6, 2026
The Irishman capped the post with the hashtags #GoAgainKatie and #RetirementPostponed. Hours later, he shared a backstage photo of them, telling Taylor to do “ONE MORE FOR THE MAC.”
He later compared her performance to Muhammad Ali’s historic legacy, sharing a striking graphic side-by-side on X. The image contrasted Ali’s July 19, 1972, technical knockout victory over Alvin “Blue” Lewis with Taylor’s own farewell match.
Katie Taylor Closes Book as Undisputed Champion
Taylor, 40, retired in style on Saturday after beating the previously undefeated French fighter by a clear unanimous decision, with scorecards reading 100-90, 100-90, and 98-91. The victory made her the undisputed super-lightweight champion once again. Tickets for the bout sold out in a record 17 minutes, making it one of the most-attended boxing cards in modern history.
She finishes her professional career at 26-1 with 6 knockouts. Her legacy includes two separate undisputed division titles and a trilogy sweep over Amanda Serrano. Fighting at Croke Park had been on her wish list for years, as a homecoming bout was always on her mind since retirement first entered the conversation.
While Taylor has given no signal that she plans to reverse course, McGregor’s posts keep the conversation about her legacy running well past fight night.
