LOS ANGELES — If Conor McGregor defeats UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194, he’s done with the competition at 145 pounds.
“I’m hoping Jose will show up,” McGregor said at a media event in downtown LA. “I’m going to retire him, end his career, and then I’ve done what I’ve said I’ll do. I said I’m going to kill the featherweight division, there’s nobody left.”
But there’s an asterisk at the end of McGregor’s statement. The interim featherweight champion conceded that should Frankie Edgar put on a show against Chad Mendes on Dec. 11, that could cause him to postpone a move up to lightweight.
“If Frankie was to put on a phenomenal performance and stop Chad, or maybe something like that, then I can say, alright, let’s answer the Frankie question, let’s shut him down real quick,” McGregor said. “But in my mind, I’m thinking, I’m going to unify the belts, I’m going to destroy the division, and then I’m going to take the lightweight division as well. That’s where I’m headed right now.”
Even though he’s yet to unify the featherweight gold, McGregor’s already throwing barbs at the top of the 155-pound pack. McGregor says a run at the lightweight title is purely about pursuing a championship legacy, since he’s already making considerably more money than Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone, who will compete for the lightweight belt on Dec. 19.
“I wouldn’t want to fight a lightweight guy to get the numbers because who the f—, Rafael has nothing, Donald has nothing,” McGregor said. “Rafael will be looking to make six figures this fight, and rightfully so. He shouldn’t even make six figures, because he doesn’t even bring in six figures. Donald will scrape six figures because he shows up and fights every couple of weeks. But he don’t earn much more than that. I already have the numbers, so when I go to the lightweight division, it will be to gain more gold, to warm up my other shoulder.”