Conor Mcgregor will be stripped of his lightweight title, UFC president Dana White has confirmed.
Conor McGregor has not fought since UFC 205 when he scores the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez. McGregor then fought in a highly anticipated boxing match with Floyd Mayweather this past August.
For the last few months, Dana White has suggested that McGregor could be relieved of his title if he didn’t provide a suitable timetable for his return to the UFC Octagon.
At a press conference of UFC 220 in Boston last month, the UFC brass hinted that McGregor had been stripped of his belt by claiming that Ferguson’s upcoming fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov would be for the ‘real title.
UFC 223 is set to take place on April 7, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York.(quote Via BloodyElbow)
“I said in the last press conference that fight will be for the title. It’s not for the interim title, that fight will be for the title,” White told TMZ Sports. “Is he upset? No, Conor understands. Conor made a lot of money, he wants some time off, but the division has to go on and the business has to go on. I say it all the time, when you get that kind of money, Conor might never come back. It’s a lot of money.”
When pressed further asked, White said it was “right” that he would have to strip Conor McGregor of the belt.
“Conor understands (about being stripped of the title). Listen, Conor made a lot of money and he wants some time off, but the division has to go on and the business has to go on,” White said.
White added he would like McGregor to fight the winner of the UFC 223 main event. However, just like has said in the past, there is a chance that McGregor may never compete again.
Should McGregor be relieved of his title, he will become the second fighter in UFC history to be stripped of two titles, the first being former light-heavyweight Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.
The current betting odds on the April 7 showdown have Khabib Nurmagomedov as a more than 2-1 favorite.
