<ul><li><strong>Pallonji was once believed to be India’s richest Parsi and probably one of the richest Irishmen too.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>He was nicknamed The Phantom of <keyword id="275791" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bombay-house" source="Orion">Bombay House</keyword> as he wielded a lot of power at the <keyword id="6355725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-group" source="Orion">Tata Group</keyword>’s headquarters at one point in time.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>When Pallonji’s father Shapoorji was bankrolling Mughal-E-Azam, the younger Mistry was nervous about the ballooning budget, and advised his father against it.</strong></li></ul>Very little is known about <keyword id="6689214" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pallonji-mistry" source="Orion">Pallonji Mistry</keyword> who was the chairman emeritus of the <keyword id="261354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shapoorji-pallonji-group" source="Orion">Shapoorji Pallonji group</keyword> – but has been crowned one of the Moghuls of real estate. And why not? The unlisted company had built every iconic building of South Mumbai – be it the Taj Colaba or the Oberoi Hotel. <br /><br />Abroad, the company built the places of Oman’s king and the President of Ghana. In fact, their ability to build seems to be how they ended up as one of the biggest shareholders of the Tata Group. They had started accumulating shares during Pallonji Mistry’s father’s time when Shapoorji Pallonjigroup was building factories for Tata Steel and Tata Motors – and were paid for, in shares.<br /><br /><strong>The <keyword id="14307253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="richest-irishman" source="Orion">richest Irishman</keyword>, the richest Parsi <br /></strong><br />These shares in the rapidly expanding group are what made Pallonji a billionaire who is now worth around $28.9 billion according to<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/pallonji-mistry/#xj4y7vzkg"> the Bloomberg Billionaires index</a>, which makes him the 41st richest Indian. Most of his wealth comes from their 18.4% stake in Tata Sons – which they have decided to offload following a feud.<br /><br />While his own construction company has interests in India and the Middle East, he also owns the consumer goods company, Eureka Forbes — a name that most of India’s households heard when water purifiers became a thing. <br /><br />At one point in time, however, Pallonji was believed to be India’s richest Parsi and also counted among the richest Irishmen too. Pallonji had given up his Indian citizenship in 2003 as he was married to an Irish woman, Patsy Perin Dubash. He however continued to reside at his sea-facing bungalow in the uptown Walkeshwar area of Mumbai. <br /><br /><strong>The Phantom of Bombay House</strong><br /><br />The reticent billionaire was also nicknamed The Phantom of Bombay House due to the power he had wielded over the Tata Group’s headquarters at one point in time – though he was not ever present. <br /><br />However, all his friends – be it Adi Godrej, the chairman of the Godrej Group, Deepak Parekh, the chairman of HDFC and others know him as a warm and caring person and a good host. But only a select few people have the privilege of knowing him. <br /><br />Coomi Kapoor’s book ‘<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/how-shapoorji-pallonji-jr-built-his-construction-empire-and-why-khojeste-mistree-is-a-religious-pop-star-among-the-parsis-7431872/">The Tatas, Freddie Mercury &amp; Other Bawas</a>' however has an interesting tidbit about him. When Pallonji’s father Shapoorji was bankrolling India’s biggest movie production, Mughal-E-Azam, the younger Mistry was nervous about the ballooning budget of the movie and the fact that it was being reshot. He tried to talk his father out of the ‘dead investments’, but the senior did not listen. However, the movie crashed all box office records of time – paying off his father’s penchant for perfection. <br /><br />Pallonji’s son Cyrus Mistry seems to have taken a leaf from it. After he became the chairman of the Tata Group – a similar discord over funding expensive businesses is what led to the famous Cyrus Mistry-Ratan Tata feud – which became one of India’s long-drawn corporate battles — leading to their decision to sell off their interest in Tata Sons, that’s been held for decades.<br /><br />With Pallonji’s death,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/cyrus-mistrys-father-pallonji-mistry-passes-away-at-93/articleshow/92509875.cms"> the phantom of Bombay House ha</a>s now literally exited the building and the business.<br /><strong>SEE ALSO:</strong><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/cyrus-mistrys-father-pallonji-mistry-passes-away-at-93/articleshow/92509875.cms" style="">Cyrus Mistry's father, Pallonji Mistry passes away at 93</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/four-of-every-10-fiis-are-from-the-us-most-others-are-from-tax-havens/slidelist/92510427.cms" style="">Four of every 10 FIIs are from the US; most others are from tax havens</a>

Pallonji Mistry, the elusive but powerful phantom of Bombay House

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c2b6932aebf4213d1544dd3-2000/conor%20mcgregor%20elon%20musk.jpg" border="0" alt="Conor McGregor, Elon Musk" data-mce-source="Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-enters-the-octagon-before-facing-news-photo/1046914142"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-enters-the-octagon-before-facing-news-photo/1046914142">Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Conor McGregor enters a smoke-filled cage.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Conor McGregor has told Floyd Mayweather's right-hand man that he should call him Elon Musk.</li><li>McGregor had been critical of the $9 million Mayweather collected for obliterating 20-year-old Japanese fighter Tenshin Nasukawa inside one round on New Year's Eve.</li><li>Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, clapped back to say McGregor does not want "that smoke" again - a clear reference to Mayweather's victory over McGregor in 2017.</li><li>McGregor attempted to end the war of words by claiming it is he who is armed with a flamethrower, and that Ellerbe should just call him Elon.</li></ul><p>Conor McGregor just compared himself to Elon Musk during a fiery exchange with a key member of Floyd Mayweather's entourage.</p><p>The UFC fighter reignited his social media crusade against Mayweather ever since the retired American boxer announced a three-round exhibition against the 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at the Rizin 14 show in Japan on December 31.</p><p>Last year, McGregor downplayed the bout as "something out of Rush Hour 5."</p><p>During <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-compared-mayweather-vs-nasukawa-to-rush-hour-5-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an expletive-laden Instagram rant in November</a>, McGregor said: "What in the f--- is going on here? Chris Tucker and Jackie f------ Chan back in this b---. F------ brilliant. Mad little b------ you are Floyd. Fair f---- to you mate. No lie. F--- it."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-floyd-mayweather-tenshin-nasakuwa-exhibition-fight-2018-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayweather beat Nasukawa in a one-sided, first round beatdown</a> on New Year's Eve, and McGregor roasted the fight veteran just hours later.</p><p>First, McGregor scoffed at the reported $9 million Mayweather banked for participating in the Saitama show. He said: "That 9 milli won't keep you on top of my list for long, kid," - a clear reference to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#67b102c055ae" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes' richest athlete list</a>, which is a ranking Mayweather dominated in 2018, and one McGregor hopes to top in the years ahead.</p><p>Just ten minutes after McGregor published his social media post, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe slapped the Irishman with a reminder that he lost 2017's crossover bout between the two fighters.</p><p>"Champ, champ with all due respect I don't think you want that smoke again," Ellerbe tweeted on Tuesday.</p><p>Not to be outdone, McGregor quickly replied claiming he is the one armed with a flamethrower, and that they should call him Elon Musk.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b926854dcee301c008b5dad-2000/muskflamethrower4x3.jpg" border="0" alt="Musk Flamethrower 4x3" data-mce-source="iJustine/YouTube/Joe Rogan Experience"><p class="source"><span>iJustine/YouTube/Joe Rogan Experience</span></p><p class="caption">Musk sold 20,000 Boring Company "flamethrowers" in 2018.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>"I'm the one with the flamethrower, Leonard," he said. "Call me Elon."</p><h2>McGregor expected to fight this year</h2><p>McGregor fought just once in 2018, coming back against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 after losing in the tenth round to Mayweather in 2017.</p><p>McGregor's return was wildly unsuccessful as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-result-who-won-ko-khabib-nurmagomedov-10-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nurmagomedov dropped him with a thudding right hand in the second round of their bout, before getting submitted for good</a> with a tight neck crank in the fourth.</p><p>Post-fight brawls marred the UFC 229 show and neither Nurmagomedov or McGregor will be able to negotiate another fight until the N<a href="https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/ufc/news/19828/11577645/conor-mcgregor-and-khabib-nurmagomedov-hearings-postponed-by-nevada-regulators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evada State Athletic Commission decides whether or not to punish them on January 29</a>.</p><p>However, McGregor is expected to return to the UFC octagon in 2019 and has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-will-conor-mcgregor-fight-next-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already campaigned for a rematch against Nurmagomedov, but would settle for the "next in line"</a> which, according to <a href="https://www.ufc.com/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC's lightweight rankings</a> could be the world number three Dustin Poirier, the number five Kevin Lee, or even the number nine Nate Diaz, one of McGregor's historic rivals.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Champ, champ with all due respect I don't think you want that smoke again💯 <a href="https://t.co/IOH2AWCPDj">https://t.co/IOH2AWCPDj</a></p>- Leonard Ellerbe  (@LEllerbe) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1079936567228149761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I'm the one with the flamethrower, Leonard. <br>Call me Elon. <br>Your guys got nothing but <br>girl collection.<br>And there they call him John.<br>Sláin ☘️ 🥃 👊 <a href="https://t.co/ocUhWikb0u">https://t.co/ocUhWikb0u</a></br></br></br></br></br></p>- Conor McGregor  (@TheNotoriousMMA) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1079946363759198208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/building-wilmington-delaware-largest-companies-ct-corporation-2017-4">This tiny building in Wilmington, Delaware is home to 300,000 businesses</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/UYxZkjSX-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Conor McGregor just compared himself to Elon Musk during fiery exchange with a key member of Floyd Mayweather's team

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c9b701dc6cc505d433fb7e2-2000/conor%20mcgregor%20comeback.jpg" border="0" alt="Conor McGregor comeback" data-mce-source="Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-walks-to-his-corner-between-news-photo/592621654"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-walks-to-his-corner-between-news-photo/592621654">Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Conor McGregor.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Conor McGregor has announced a shock retirement from mixed martial arts, but it surely won't be long before he returns to the sport.</li><li>McGregor has had many problems away from the cage of late, including wild behavior at fight events as a spectator, getting arrested two separate times, and an allegation of sexual assault.</li><li>He has also suffered back-to-back defeats, each as humiliating as the other.</li><li>McGregor will not wan to end his career as a loser, which is why he will likely return to complete his trilogy against Nate Diaz, or contest a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.</li><li>Should he win, he would retire perhaps as he always intended. Not as a loser, but as a king.</li></ul><p>Conor McGregor said Tuesday that he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-announces-shock-resignation-from-mma-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retiring from the fight game,</a> but I don't believe him for one second.</p><p>The Irish striker took the mixed martial arts world by storm, pulverizing opponents at will in Europe's premier combat sports promotion Cage Warriors before bruising and battering the UFC's best featherweights.</p><p>The beauty of mixed martial arts is its unpredictable nature. While it is possible to navigate a way through boxing while retaining an undefeated record, often accumulating more than 20 wins in a row, there are more ways to lose in MMA, more styles of fighting to defend oneself against, and it is nigh impossible to avoid fighting the best.</p><p>Once you get to the UFC, the tough fights come thick and fast but when McGregor left Cage Warriors as a two-weight champion, he put together a seven-fight winning run against the best 145-pound fighters the UFC had to offer.</p><p>He out-pointed the current featherweight champion Max Holloway in 2013, out-witted the elite wrestler Chad Mendes in 2015, and shocked the entire sport with a jaw-dropping 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo - a champion who had reigned supreme for six years, and was unbeaten in 10.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c9b887286d56e16064c9093-2400/ap17219683716610.jpg" border="0" alt="Conor McGregor knocks out Jose Aldo" data-mce-source="AP Photo/John Locher"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/John Locher</span></p><p class="caption">McGregor annihilated Aldo.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>McGregor made a grueling ascent to the summit of mixed martial arts look easy with a blistering, hard-punching style often punctuated with a straight-right, fight-ending thud. His highlight reel contains hadouken KOs aplenty, which makes for unmissable TV.</p><p>As the years went on he enjoyed a wildly entertaining blood and guts rivalry with jiu jitsu expert Nate Diaz, and transcended his sport because of his charisma, crude mouth, and fancy dress sense.</p><p>Who can forget the verbal slapping he gave Jeremy Stephens when the American dared to interrupt him at a UFC 205 press conference in 2016? "Who the f--- is dat guy?" McGregor said while wearing an immaculately-tailored suit. "Who the f--- is dat?"</p><p>He then told lightweight rival Eddie Alvarez that he'd beat him, take his UFC belt, and then drag Floyd Mayweather out of retirement for a crossover fight in boxing, something people will have laughed about at the time but all of which ended up happening. They didn't call him "Mystic Mac" for nothing.</p><p>McGregor clowned Eddie Alvarez with his hands behind his back, much to the delight of the raucous Irish fans at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2016. He utilized an intuitive takedown defence between throwing distance-measuring jabs of his own, kicks to his opponent's chest and head, and hurtful soul-destroying punches which cannoned into Alvarez's face.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-private-jet-photo-message-about-hard-work-for-son-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor sent a message to his son about 'hard work' while posing beside a multimillion-dollar private jet</a></em></p><p>It took McGregor two rounds to conclusively beat Alvarez, leaving the decorated fighter in an awkward heap on the floor with a merciless four punch combination. He then rushed to the deck and pounded him on the ground before the referee John McCarthy called the fight off for good. McGregor was crowned king in two weight classes simultanously for the first time ever in UFC history.</p><p>That was peak McGregor.</p><p>But then it all went downhill… fast.</p><h2>McGregor has had countless problems away from the cage</h2><p>McGregor stormed a Bellator cage to celebrate his Straight Blast Gym teammate Charlie Ward's victory over John Redmond, but ended up shoving a referee and arguing with security in 2017.</p><p>In 2018 he was seen on video throwing a metal dolly at the window of a UFC bus carrying athletes, an act which injured two fighters on board and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-charged-with-three-counts-of-assault-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led to his arrest by the New York City Police department</a>. He was also told to take anger management classes.</p><p>But this failed to reign in his behavior. Earlier this month a police report in Florida said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-reaction-after-phone-arrest-in-miami-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he allegedly threw a fan's phone on the floor, stomped on it, and walked away</a> with it. He was arrested and charged for strong-armed robbery.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-selling-replicas-of-tshirt-he-was-arrested-in-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor is selling replicas of the T-shirt he got arrested in for $56</a></em></p><p>Most recently, on Tuesday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-sexual-assault-accusation-investigation-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the New York Times reported that he is being investigated by Irish police over sexual assault allegations.</a></p><h2>He's had problems in the cage, too</h2><p>McGregor looked completely out of his depth against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/floyd-mayweather-conor-mcgregor-fight-circus-2017-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a bout Business Insider dubbed a circus</a> at the time.</p><p>And then he was dropped and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-result-who-won-ko-khabib-nurmagomedov-10-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped with a fourth round neck crank</a> when he attempted to replace Khabib Nurmagomedov as UFC's lightweight champion last year. After the loss, Nurmagomedov mounted the fence and charged at McGregor's cageside friend Dillon Danis. While that was going on, members of Nurmagomedov's team invaded the Octagon and were seen brawling with McGregor. The Irishman was slapped with a six-month ban for the role he played in the post-fight riots, and is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conor-mcgregor-behavior-means-trash-talk-must-be-policed-2019-1?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only free to fight again from April 6</a>.</p><p>McGregor is far removed from when he was at the top of the sport. He is vulnerable, flawed, and beatable because he has failed to evolve a one dimensional fight style that worked wonders at featherweight, but which has been found lacking at lightweight.</p><p>Even minority UFC owner Sylvester <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sylvester-stallone-says-ufc-is-worried-about-conor-mcgregor-after-public-humiliation-2019-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stallone said the company's biggest star has been "publicly humiliated."</a></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c9b940dee52ef17bc3aebed-1823/conor%20mcgregor%20ufc%20229%20rematch.jpg" border="0" alt="Conor McGregor, UFC 229 rematch" data-mce-source="Photo by Harry How/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-is-sits-on-the-mat-in-the-octagon-news-photo/1046912588"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/conor-mcgregor-of-ireland-is-sits-on-the-mat-in-the-octagon-news-photo/1046912588">Photo by Harry How/Getty Images</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Only McGregor, his inner circle, and maybe the UFC will know the precise reasons for McGregor's retirement, but he has made a similar announcement before.</p><p>Almost three years ago to the day, McGregor tweeted: "I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later."</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/19/ufc-star-conor-mcgregor-i-have-decided-to-retire-young" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian reported at the time</a> that McGregor's statement could have been "standard fight-game theatrics" or<span> "an act of protest to extract a better deal from the promoter."</span></p><p>MMA Fighting even said the 2016 retirement was <a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/3/27/18283632/morning-report-dana-white-on-conor-mcgregor-wanting-equity-in-the-ufc-thats-never-gonna-happen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"</a><span><a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/3/27/18283632/morning-report-dana-white-on-conor-mcgregor-wanting-equity-in-the-ufc-thats-never-gonna-happen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC."</a> </span></p><p><span>Regardless of whether or not there was a dispute over pay, McGregor's first retirement proved to be short-lived as he returned to the Octagon four months later when he avenged his defeat to Nate Diaz by outpointing him in August.</span></p><p><span>There is also almost certainly a disagreement over fighter worth right now. McGregor, after all, wants an equity stake in the UFC, something he has lobbied for regularly over the years <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/11/13/13613068/conor-mcgregor-asks-for-ownership-and-equity-ufc-205-mma-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in 2016</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2017/11/02/ufcs-dana-white-responds-to-conor-mcgregors-request-for-ownership-and-equity-in-the-promotion/#c7399a549ea7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2017</a>, and, more recently, in 2019.</span></p><p><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjf0bsR0Dyk&amp;t=20s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Speaking to TMZ Sports</a> this month, the UFC boss Dana White confirmed that McGregor felt like he "should own a piece of the company." White said he told McGregor "that's never gonna happen."</span><span></span></p><blockquote class="pullquote">McGregor may well be following the famed Floyd Mayweather playbook of turning a comeback into a business.</blockquote><p><span>Weeks later, McGregor tweeted his retirement and here we are, a potential limbo period where there are multiple PPV-worthy bouts for McGregor, but with a McGregor who says he will no longer fight.&#xa0;</span></p><p>But I think he <em>wants</em> to fight.</p><p>He may even be following the famed Floyd Mayweather playbook of turning a comeback into a business. Mayweather, of course, retired in 2007 only to later sign a record six-fight deal with the major American broadcaster Showtime that had the potential to make him "<span>the richest individual athlete deal in all of sports," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/feb/19/floyd-mayweather-jr-tv-deal-showtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as reported at the time by The Guardian</a>. Mayweather also retired at the end of that deal in 2015, only to come back for a crossover bout against McGregor himself <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-best-selling-pay-per-view-events-boxing-ufc-wrestling-tv-history-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in one of the most commercially successful combat sports event in history</a>.</span></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-best-selling-pay-per-view-events-boxing-ufc-wrestling-tv-history-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 54 best-selling pay-per-view fight nights in history</a></em></p><p><a href="https://talksport.com/sport/mma/517429/conor-mcgregor-floyd-mayweather-retirement-talksport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Telegraph's fight expert Gareth A. Davies told talkSPORT</a> earlier this week that every time Mayweather came back from retirement, "he was even bigger than ever" and added that "McGregor could be doing that."</p><p>Right now, McGregor has bowed out of the sport having suffered heavy back-to-back defeats. McGregor looked out of his depth in a boxing ring against Mayweather in 2017, and he was completely outclassed by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. He has not won a fight for two years and three months, since 2016.</p><p>But this is precisely why he will likely return to the sport and to the UFC. He has a point to prove. He has a belt to reclaim. And there are big-money fights out there for him, made even bigger now because of his retirement statement.</p><p>A trilogy against Diaz and a rematch against Nurmagomedov are box office fights. McGregor's previous battles with them are some of the company's biggest combat sports events of all time, and should he win any comeback, then he returns to the summit of MMA and can retire from the sport perhaps as he always intended… not as a loser, but as its king.</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GJkv3tWbRF0?start=351" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MXx8WQPjYpo?start=351" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I have decided to retire young.<br>Thanks for the cheese. <br>Catch ya's later.</br></br></p>- Conor McGregor  (@TheNotoriousMMA) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/722492455732584448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-nba-celebrity-stylist-fashion-icon-2019-3">Meet the stylist who turned LeBron James into a fashion icon</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/bSpCSxUC-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

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Pallonji Mistry, the elusive but powerful phantom of Bombay House

Katya Naidu

Conor McGregor just compared himself to Elon Musk during fiery exchange with a key member of Floyd Mayweather's team

Alan Dawson

Conor McGregor's fall has been as sharp as his monumental rise, and it's unlikely he'll retire on such a humiliating low

Alan Dawson