Conor McGregor WWE UFC
Conor McGregor of Ireland laughs after the first round against Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia in their UFC lightweight championship bout during the UFC 229 event inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Oct. 6, 2018. Harry How/Getty Images

Conor McGregor announced early Tuesday morning that he has retired from MMA. While there’s still a good chance the UFC star will compete in the octagon again, the Irish fighter could take an extended break to pursue other opportunities.

One of those opportunities could involve the WWE. There has been speculation for years that McGregor might do something with the world’s largest wrestling promotion, and those rumors will only pick up steam with his retirement announcement coming less than two weeks before WrestleMania 35.

It seemed like a real possibility that McGregor might show up at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando two years ago.

“Never say never. I know there's been conversations,” McGregor told Damon Martin of Fox Sports in January 2017, confirming that he entertained the idea of being at WrestleMania. “I know Triple H was at the show [UFC 205]. I'd love to go to that WWE and have a real knock. Let one of them have a real knock and see what's what. We'll see.

“There's conversations ongoing. I've turned down some things, conversations still ongoing.”

McGregor has interacted with WWE star Becky Lynch on social media. The Irish wrestler has become the most popular star in WWE, and she will fight for the Raw Women’s Championship against former UFC star Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the WrestleMania 35 main event.

Since retiring from MMA, Rousey has had a ton of success in WWE, holding the Raw Women’s Championship for over 200 days. She will become one of the first women to close WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium on April 7.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. Since leaving the UFC for WWE in 2012, Lesnar has fought in the WrestleMania main event twice.

“I think Conor would be a perfect fit with WWE,” WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said in 2017. “He certainly has the personality and the athletic ability, the appeal. He speaks his mind, he's very genuine and authentic and he has a hell of a Vince McMahon swagger.”

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