It’s not Conor McGregor’s fault that the UFC’s lightweight division is being held up.
Top UFC 155 lb contender Michael Chiesa thinks what Conor McGregor’s doing is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘fucking retarded.’ Despite this, he’s not blaming ‘the Notorious’ for successfully pursuing a diamond-encrusted panty night against Floyd Mayweather.
That coveted UFC belt comes with responsibilities, the main one being the obligation to defend it. McGregor’s absence means there has been an extended period of no lightweight title fights. This has left Chiesa very understandably frustrated.
He vented this frustration on the Fight Society podcast.
“By the time the Floyd fight happens, his belt will not have moved for a year. This division has already been plagued by delays… Once again the lightweight division is backlogged so it kind of sucks. It really does.”
Don't be surprised https://t.co/KvFPS6VQaB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 21, 2017
Chiesa is pissed, and rightly so. An inactive champion means there’s less incentive for top contenders to take risky fights against high-ranking opponents. What’s the point in sticking your neck out against the number-one or two-guy if beating him doesn’t secure a title shot?
He’s not pointing the finger of blame at McGregor though. If he was in the Dubliner’s shoes, he would do the exact same thing.
“As upset as I am in the state of the lightweight division, I’d probably do the same thing if I were Conor and I had $100 million waiting for me. I don’t blame him for doing what he’s doing but it sucks for the rest of us.”
While it’s easy to blame to belt-holder for not defending belt, the easiest route isn’t always the correct one.
The UFC have already stripped one champion this week https://t.co/aOP5wyNVat
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 20, 2017
Way before the Mayweather fight was even close to being booked, the UFC attempted to keep the division moving. McGregor had given the promotion plenty of warning that he would be staying on the sidelines for a while after UFC 205 as he awaited the birth of his child.
To ensure that there was significant interest in the division, an interim title fight was booked between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately, UFC 209’s co-main event fell through because of a botched weight cut by Nurmagomedov.
If an interim champion was crowned, we would at least have that shiny pot at the end of the brutal rainbow for the rest of the division to aim for.
It’s not McGregor’s fault the promotion failed to book another interim lightweight title fight. He’s also more than likely not liable for failing to defend the belt. The press release confirming Germaine de Randamie’s title being stripped suggests he wasn’t offered a title defence.
Even if he was, do you not think the UFC’s eyes turned to dollar signs once the Mayweather talk gathered momentum? They clearly have a lot to gain from that fight happening.
The onus is on the promotion to strip McGregor for not defending. However, destroying the ‘UFC champion vs undefeated boxing great’ angle would be a bad business move.
