It’s starting to look like Conor McGregor did not resolve to change his whole social media strategy in 2018. If anything, seems like he decided to get back to his greatest hits.

In a series of tweets on New Year’s Day, the UFC lightweight champion: 1) Disparaged Khabib Nurmagomedov’s performance in a three-round evisceration of Edson Barboza at UFC 219, 2) insisted that he’s not coming back to the UFC until he’s paid “(his worth)”, 3) as in, seriously, you’re going to have beg him, 4) because his whiskey brand launches soon and he expects to make “Diddy bread” as a result, 5) and that’s on top of the Diddy bread he already has, 6) so go on and open up that wallet, for real this time.

It’s a lot to unpack, is the point. And if the UFC really wants to have McGregor back by the summer, it probably needs to unpack a boatload of cash and maybe even an ownership stake in the company first.

But if you’re trying to understand where the McGregor phenomenon stands now and where it might go next, this muddies the waters somewhat. (It also casts still further doubt on that claim that McGregor was slated to fight in December right up until the UFC pulled him as punishment for storming the cage at a Bellator event in November, but is that really a surprise?)

If the last two years proved anything, it’s that McGregor is the biggest star in MMA. In fact, he’s the biggest star in the history of MMA, and obviously he knows it. Ensuring that the UFC pays him as such seems like it’s as much a matter of pride for him as it is one of finances. He wants that money not just because he wants to spend it, but because it’s his.

This is a position we can respect. Why should McGregor rush back into the cage just to add a few more zeroes to the bank accounts of already wealthy UFC owners? He’s out here changing the game. He’s just doing it from a distance at the moment.

But eventually people are going to decide that it’s not much fun being a fan of a fighter who doesn’t fight, especially when there are so many interesting opponents just waiting for his return.

Nurmagomedov is a true stylistic test. Tony Ferguson is guaranteed fireworks. If you want to get really non-sensical you could probably throw Georges St-Pierre and Nate Diaz into the conversation too, all of them standing around and waiting for McGregor to bring the payday to them.

Plus, the longer he doesn’t return, the more he just seems to be in the way. These other lightweights, they’re him a few years ago. They want to be the best, get the belt, make that money. That’s harder to do when the champ is off selling whiskey and counting Diddy bread.

Sooner or later, something has to give. It could be the UFC giving McGregor money and equity, or McGregor giving some enterprising contender a shot – maybe even fans and media giving less of their attention to the occasional Twitter rants of a guy who used to fight.

It just can’t keep on like this forever, and it really shouldn’t have to, especially since all sides seem to want most of the same things. Fans? They want to see McGregor fight. So does the UFC and so do all the people hoping to beat him up for money.

And McGregor? The fact that he’s watching Nurmagomedov’s fights and forming strong opinions on them makes you think he’s not quite ready to be done. You don’t ask people to beg you if there isn’t a big part of you that’s looking for a good reason to say yes.

All we need now is for the interested parties to decide on how to make it happen, and then everyone can end up getting what they want. Because if not, that’s a whole lot of Diddy bread that’s going to go stale just sitting on the shelf.

For on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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