When Conor McGregor announced he’d be moving up to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight division, there was no shortage of fighter’s eager to welcome him to the weight class.
That’s because a fight against “Notorious” will bring plenty of eyeballs to the fight, as well as plenty of cash. So you would think he’d get the same response after his coach revealed that a move up to Welterweight isn’t completely out of the question down the road, right?
Wrong.
Current 170-pound champion, Robbie Lawler, recently told MMA Junkie that he “doesn’t get excited” about potential moves like that because at the end of the day, it could simply be a lot of hot air coming out of someone’s mouth. And he isn’t going to get riled up or waste his time thinking about “what ifs”.
“I don’t really get excited. It’s just how I am, nothing really gets me riled up too much. I just concentrate on myself. A lot of things could happen; everyone knows that. So I can’t concentrate on all these what-ifs because these what-ifs might never happen, and then I’ve wasted my time. So there you go.”
For now, McGregor will try to add the 155-pound title to go along with his Featherweight strap when he faces Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 197 on March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada (full details here).
But, as he declared during today’s UFC 197 press conference (see it), McGregor is more than confident that he will be a three-division champion by year’s end.
“I am an active champion, I will fight in many weight divisions. I like the sound of the 170-pound title, I’ve got to be honest with you. I feel I can take down them three gold belts, so, and I feel like I can do it by the year’s end.”
Should McGregor shock the world yet again in two months time there is no telling just what his next move might be. After all, it seems the fiery Irishman can pretty much get anything he asks for from the higher-ups at Zuffa.
But, would asking for a title fight at Welterweight be too much?