UFC should take away Conor McGregor's belt: 'The division has to move forward', says president

UFC should strip C. McGregor of his lightweight title. Photo: Reproduction / Facebook UFC

Away from the octagon since November 2016, the reign of Conor McGregor in the UFC is about to end. The president of the franchise, Dana White, revealed that the Irishman only wants to compete again in September and that the organization must remove the lightweight belt from his possession. Therefore, Tony Ferguson, interim champion of the division, would be promoted to linear champion and defend the title against the Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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“If McGregor returns in September, it will be almost two years after his last fight in MMA. That can't happen and it's not fair to the rest of the division. I love Conor, respect him, and love everything he has done for the company. Everyone knows this, but the belt has to move on. We're working on the fight between Khabib and Tony right now. When he wants to return, Conor will be the first to fight for the belt”, declared the director in an interview with Fox Sports in the United States.

Conor McGregor is the main star under contract with the UFC. The Irishman won the featherweight belt by knocking out the Brazilian José Aldo in just 12 seconds, in 2015, and reached the lightweight title after defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, in November 2016. The feat of winning two belts simultaneously had never happened in the UFC. Afterwards, McGregor left MMA aside and had a boxing superfight against Floyd Mayweather, in August last year. Since then, he decided to step away from competitions to follow his wife's pregnancy and the first months of his son, Conor Jack McGregor Jr.'s life.

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