UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor will challenge Eddie Alvarez at UFC 206 and attempt to become just the third person in history to hold two titles in two divisions. However, he may have to choose which title he will keep and which title he will have to relinquish.
UFC President Dana White told UFC Tonight that McGregor will not be allowed to hold dual titles and that he will have to choose which division he wishes to compete in. “If he wins, he’ll hold two belts,” he said. “Then he’ll decide which one he wants to give back to me. He can’t hold both. He’ll have accomplished this, then he’ll have to figure out which one he wants to give up. He can’t hold up two divisions.”
McGregor, though, does not seem too keen on the idea of being forced to relinquish one of the two titles he will have earned should he be victorious in next month’s bout. Back in September at the UFC 205 press conference, he explained how he envisioned his future were he to win the UFC Lightweight Title. “I’m going to wrap one on one shoulder, I’m going to wrap the other on the other shoulder, and you’re going to need a (expletive) army to come take them belts off me,” McGregor said. “They’re going to have to gather an army to try to take one of them off me. And that’s telling it straight. One’s going to be there, one’s going to be there, and I’m going to be picking and choosing who I want to destroy next”.
This is the latest development in what has become a recurring issue of contention between Conor McGregor and the UFC management.
Cervantes Analysis: I’m curious to see how far the UFC is willing to bend to keep McGregor happy. He has gotten his way with just about everything else he has demanded and because of his performances and ability to sell fights, I’d say he’s justified in his demands. The problem I have right now is that he has yet to defend the title he currently has even once and now wants to win another title. Given that champions usually only defend maybe twice a year, he’d defend once for featherweight and once for lightweight, which would tie up the divisions indefinitely. If there were a case where I thought the UFC would remain adamant and refuse to waver, I’d have to believe this is it.
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Renowned dietitian and nutritionist Mike Dolce told MMAJunkie that he is “100 percent confident” Ronda Rousey is ready for her fight with Amanda Nunes
-According to Fox Sports, Jose Aldo hopes to be released from his UFC contract by next week.
(Jonathan Cervantes has been an avid fan of MMA since 2009 when he saw GSP vs. B.J. Penn 2. He has practiced tae kwon do, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling in the past and is currently a student majoring in entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco. He writes the MMATorch News Digest on Fridays and Saturdays. Michael Hiscoe writes MMATorch News Digests Sunday through Thursday each week.)
Foot cream? Pure Bull. The drug he tested positive for is used by people coming off of steroids so they avoid the side effects that happen when you stop taking roids. It is no surprise that Lesnar was taking steroids, but he got caught.
Oh, and F*** McGregor. UFC should punish him for refusing to pay his NSAC fine, and should strip McGregor of both belts if he refuses to give one up. Champions should defend their titles at LEAST 3 times a year, not once a year and none of this fake interim titles that UFC does purely so they can falsely claim it’s a title fight (if a champion can’t defend or won’t defend, they should be stripped of their title).
It’s simple. A belt is usually defended twice a year. How can you justify pulling a belt? The man best at a weight holds the belt. If he is best at both he holds both, defends both twice a year. 4 fights a year. Force him to defend. More fights and money for him and ufc, puts it on the fighter to maintain.