UFC officials have long indicated a preference for Conor McGregor to move back to featherweight and defend his title there.
McGregor appears to have other ideas.
In a video posted to his own MacLife YouTube channel (h/t Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie), McGregor indicated he was more interested in his options at the lightweight level.
“I’m going to kill them all,” McGregor said in reference to the UFC’s lightweight fighters. “(I’m) very excited and at the same time calm. Calm and excited. We’re going to go out there and put on a showcase. Stake my claim. What can they say now? Two belts. … We’re only starting here. There’s a lot more coming.”
McGregor is referring, of course, to his main-event matchup at UFC 205, at which he challenges Eddie Alvarez for Alvarez’s lightweight strap. If McGregor wins, he’ll become the first fighter to hold two UFC belts simultaneously.
In August, UFC president Dana White said McGregor would return to 145 pounds after a rematch at welterweight with Nate Diaz. That, of course, didn’t happen. UFC brass instead made the monster match for UFC 205, which doubles as the UFC’s first event in New York. There appears to be a good chance that the UFC may ask or force McGregor to relinquish one of those belts if he winds up victorious against Alvarez.
The Irish sensation has already defeated Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Chad Mendes and others at the featherweight level. So on some level, it stands to reason that there are more bouts available for him at 155 pounds—a division in which he has never before competed in the UFC. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Rafael dos Anjos are two of the potential opponents, outside Alvarez, who could serve as main-event material opposite McGregor.
McGregor held the featherweight and lightweight titles while competing in Great Britain’s Cage Warriors promotion.
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