Conor McGregor would like to ‘spearhead’ a new weight division and fight Nate Diaz at 165 lbs.
There’s been a lot of talk about the UFC adding a new 165-pound weight class to its rankings, but head president Dana White is not so fond of the idea.
The ball got rolling when Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz suggested that they fight for the 165 lbs. title in the UFC 230 main event, but the fight promotion went ahead and booked a flyweight title bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks instead, much to the dismay of MMA fans.
Although White has shot down the idea, talk of a new 165-pound weight class continues to build momentum and UFC megastar Conor McGregor believes he could be the one to lead the charge.
‘The Notorious’ told Karyn Byrant that he would like to rematch Diaz at 165 lbs and suggested a major shakeup amongst the divisions.
“The game is full of bums,” McGregor said at Wednesday’s open workouts ahead of his UFC 229 title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “Ain’t s**t changed, really, so it’s good to be back. I’ve got that trilogy with Diaz. I will give that man a rematch. He gave me a rematch, so I’ll give him a rematch. [At] 155 [pounds], I’d imagine, but we’ll see because maybe we could spearhead a 165-pound division. I do believe we should go 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, even 195. Why not? There’s more belts.”
McGregor is, no doubt, looking to add a third world title to his resume and become the first fighter to win belts in three different weight classes. The Irishman made history when he became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous featherweight and lightweight champion in 2016, beating Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez to become one of the biggest stars in the sport.
McGregor fought, and lost, to Diaz in a short notice fight at 170 pounds back in 2016 but won the rematch at UFC 202 via majority decision. While the UFC is likely to book the trilogy fight at 155 lbs., it would be interesting to see both men square off for a new world title.
McGregor will look to reclaim the lightweight title against Nurmagomedov, who he takes on in the UFC 229 main event this Saturday, Oct. 6, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.