Highly ranked UFC lightweight contender Edson Barboza doesn’t think Conor McGregor is a ‘real champ’.
The brash and outspoken Irishman won the 155-pound title with a brilliant knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez last November at UFC 205 in New York City, but he has yet to defend it, instead electing to accept a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, which will take place on Aug. 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Because of this current situation, Barboza feels as if the UFC should strip McGregor of his title:
“Conor stays out for a long time. I don’t think he worries about the UFC, don’t worry about the division. He (doesn’t) respect us, and the UFC don’t get his belt,” Barboza said on a recent edition of The Fight Society podcast. “I really don’t understand why the UFC got the belt from (Germaine de Randamie) and why the UFC (doesn’t) get the belt from Conor? Take the belt (from) Conor. I really don’t understand. I think this belt in the UFC, Conor’s not a real champ.”
In fact, the Brazilian finds it ‘crazy’ that McGregor is still the UFC champion when his focus is currently on boxing:
“This guy is thinking about boxing; he’s thinking about another sport,” Barboza said. “He don’t think about the UFC. He don’t think about the division. That’s my job; that’s my work. I’m in the UFC to get the belt. I’m in the UFC to be the champ. I know I deserve the chance. This guy, because of him, our division is stuck. That’s not good. This guy doesn’t respect nobody. He doesn’t respect the UFC, and he’s still champ. That’s crazy.”
Now to highlight both sides, there have been reports indicating that McGregor plans to return to the Octagon before the end of the year to defend his title, but the division’s top contenders have continued to voice their displeasure with the state of the division.
Do you agree with Barboza?
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