If Conor McGregor beats Eddie Alavarez at UFC 205, he’s now prepared to give up one of the two UFC titles he’ll have won, just as long as he actually gets the chance to win them first.
There’s no question that Conor McGregor wants very badly to become the first concurrent two-division champion in UFC history. While BJ Penn and Randy Couture have both held titles in different weight classes for the UFC, neither man was able to hold two belts at once. on November 12th Conor McGregor could be the first.
Of course, achieving this feat has meant more or less abandoning the featherweight division to its own devices. Since becoming the champ at 145, McGregor has fought twice - at welterweight, for some reason - and the division has crowned a new, interim champion in his absence. The desire to pursue fights in other divisions has left many fans and even many fighters unhappy, as McGregor continues to blaze his own trail outside of the typical boundaries of a UFC career. One way or another, at UFC 205, it seems that will come to an end.
While in the past, McGregor has stated his desire to both hold and defend the light and featherweight titles, in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated he made it clear that when the time comes he’s willing to hand over one of his belts:
"Let me see the pictures on publications with a belt on each shoulder first," he recently told SI by phone. "Let me go onto the side of that Octagon and raise two world titles, what's never been done before, before talking about stripping me. Let me get the f------ things, let me do it.
"I'll always listen to the correct business move and I'll always do what is the correct move," he added, "but let me do it and let me go back and look at some pictures of me with two belts and let me embrace it for half-a-day."
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"Everyone wants to see you do good, but not better than them," he said. "That's what's happening here. I'm just looking forward to raising the belts, and doing what has not been done before.
"Don't be trying to take away the historic moment before I've even experienced it."
Of course, to get his historic moment, McGregor still has to actually beat the lightweight champion. He’s preparing to face Eddie Alvarez in the main event for UFC 205 which will host a trifecta of title fights for the promotion’s debut in New York City and Madison Square Garden. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and notes as the event draws near.