"He's not going to get stripped...He has to either defend his title or give it up and decide what he wants to do next." were the words of Dana White, following UFC 202 in August. However, barely three months on from said interview with NBC Sports Radio, Conor McGregor has one less belt to sling over his shoulder.
We are nearly approaching a year since McGregor got his hands on the first of those titles, defeating José Aldo inside the opening thirteen seconds. Since that momentous night, the SBG fighter has remained active - fighting three times - but was guilty of holding up the division nevertheless.
There was an air of inevitability about McGregor being stripped of the featherweight crown following his post-fight press conference announcement that he is due to take a hiatus from the sport for personal matters. When you have accumulated as much money for the UFC as the Dubliner has, you've every right to take a break. However, to expect the two divisions to stagnate in the meantime would be naive.
Those defending McGregor's rite to simultaneously hold two belts will highlight that Dominick Cruz (bantamweight) and Frank Mir (heavyweight) only had their belts removed after 27 and 14 months respectively. The difference being that the two aforementioned athletes were forced out of action due to injury. In the end, they too were forced to vacate their belts when the organisations patience eventually wore thin.
McGregor on the other hand, chose not to defend his strap, while comments from his camp suggested he was not going to make the cut back down to 145 any time soon. John Kavanagh told Ariel Helwani in August that "I really don't see the point in it" when asked about the Irishman returning to defend his belt.
But Why Reward José Aldo?
When José Aldo received the UFC featherweight belt back in 2010, it was not in front of a raucous crowd but instead presented inside the octagon with a handful of media members in attendance. While it was a peculiar moment, it did seem somewhat justified as the UFC acquired World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where Aldo was the undisputed 145-pound king.
Fast forward five years and the Brazilian was dethroned with a strong left. Undoubtedly a devastating loss for man who suddenly appeared as a mere mortal inside octagon following his reign of terror. Aldo, returned to Brazil, regained focus with his Nova Uniáo team before returning to defeat Frankie Edgar for the interim title.
Subsequently, leads us to where we are now as he was promoted to featherweight champion without technically fighting for it. Yet, this time it was not awarded to Aldo on merit, but to benefit the UFC's ulterior motives.
This all quickly followed the news that Daniel Cormier vs Anthony Johnson's title fight was cancelled, with the former citing injury. Something was urgently needed to save UFC 206 and what better way to do it than creating another interim champion? Contenders, Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis will compete for the much coveted prize.
How can Jose Aldo hold his head high after being given the 145 strap AGAIN. I would have had him fight Holloway for it. #UFC #UFC206
— Seán (@sean_shabba) November 27, 2016
While it makes sense from a buy rate/gate point of view, as casual fans are more likely to be interested when there is a belt on the line but most won't be fooled by the company's stunt. Ultimately, the UFC had the right intentions by vacating the belt but executed it poorly.
If José Aldo is worthy of being the champion, it should be him - not Pettis - who fights Max Holloway for the official title in Toronto this December.
