The controversy surrounding Conor McGregor's 'retirement' has taken another twist after his father Tony stated that, as far as he was aware, his son has retired from Mixed Martial Arts.

McGregor's father today poured fuel on the fire surrounding rumours of him quitting MMA by saying his son has retired.

"The last word we heard is he's retired. That's the latest word " Tony McGregor told Independent.ie from his Lucan home.

But Mr McGregor said he was going on what social media is saying, and the only one who could really clarify the matter was Conor himself.

"The news broke to us at the same time as everyone else," he said.

"We have spoken but we can't disclose anything," he added.

I have decided to retire young.

Thanks for the cheese.

Catch ya's later. — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016

Back in the land of Ice for some good training at Mjolnir!! #TheIceViking pic.twitter.com/zXKy3vN6Qv — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 18, 2016

Well was fun while it lasted — Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) April 19, 2016

"All his social media followers are in the same boat (seeking clarification). Everybody wants to know."

"He's in Iceland. Go and talk to him."

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Asked if Conor had told him directly that he is retiring, Tony McGregor said "No".

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The UFC featherweight champion will not be a part of the biggest night in the promotion's history after being dramatically pulled from UFC 200.

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The 27-year-old sent the world of MMA into a spin with a tweet suggesting that he has called time on his fighting career. A tweet which was backed up by his coach John Kavanagh.

McGregor is currently in a training camp in Iceland.

The UFC has since announced that the Crumlin fighter will not now face Nate Diaz on July 9.

The American choked out McGregor at UFC 196 to hand the Dubliner his first UFC defeat.

In a statement the UFC claimed that McGregor was pulled from the bout for refusing to take part in pre-fight media activities.

“Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question. I don’t know,” UFC president Dana White said. “But Conor McGregor is not fighting at UFC 200.

"He’s in Iceland training and he felt leaving right now would hurt his training and getting ready for this fight. But every other fighter on the card was coming. I get accused of coddling Conor all the time, but at the end of the day I respect Conor.

"But it doesn’t make you exempt for showing up for the press conferences and all the promotional stuff that we have to do. We spend a lot of money with this stuff, and you have to do it, man.

“Obviously we still have a good relationship with Conor. I respect Conor as a fighter and I like him as a person. But you can’t decide to not show up for this things. You have to do them.”

White's version of events would appear to be backed up by an McGregor gave an Icelandic journalist who questioned him after the retirement tweet was sent.

McGregor was approached by Icelandic media outlet MMA Frettir but was not pleased with being questioned.

He is being quoted as saying: "No, I'm retired, f**k interviews."

What this whole episode means for the career of the biggest name in UFC, only time will tell.

Online Editors