Not what Irish fight fans wanted to hear…
Conor McGregor didn’t have long to rest on his piece of history, after the UFC stripped him of his featherweight crown two weeks ago shortly after becoming the first man in history to hold two UFC belts simultaneously… although McGregor seems to have other ideas on that score.
The Notorious has not fought at featherweight since December last year when he defeated Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to claim the 145 pound title.
With McGregor originally intending to take a sabbatical until May for the birth of his first child, the UFC stripped the champion… although, the real reason they took the belt is because they needed a main event for UFC 206 this weekend following the withdrawal of Daniel Cormier.
But now it seems that McGregor could be taking more time off than the six months originally thought, according to UFC President Dana White.
Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast with Jim Norton and Matt Serra, White spoke at length about The Notorious and sung the praises of the fighter who he thinks is still “the man” at featherweight.
“That belt hadn’t been defended in almost a year, and Conor’s taking another ten months off for maternity. It’s not fair to the rest of the guys in that division,” White said.
“Conor McGregor is a very unique individual and very different. I let Conor be Conor, I let Conor do his thing. Everybody always thinks there’s some kind of animosity with me and Conor. There’s always something bad brewing. Listen, I don’t know how much more I can say it publicly how much I respect the guy, how different and special that he is, and everything else.”
Ten months off would mean that it would be September at the earliest before we see him in the Octagon again.
Speaking on rumours of a bout with Floyd Mayweather, White was unequivocal in saying that the fight will never become a reality.
“He’s not fighting Floyd Mayweather,” White said. “He’s not fighting Floyd Mayweather. Floyd is never going to fight him. It’s not going to happen.”
