The MMA world was stunned when Conor McGregor decided to relinquish his possession of the UFC featherweight championship. Many are still unable to digest why the proud Irishman vacated his throne as the 145-pound king.
After winning the UFC lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez this month, it was well-documented that McGregor had intended to keep both titles. His aim was to remain as the only double champion in the company.
In the words of McGregor himself, “I’m going to wrap one [belt] on one shoulder and I’m going to wrap the other [belt] on the other shoulder and they’re going to need a f*ckin’ army to come take them belts off me.”
So did the UFC send an army to convince McGregor to surrender the UFC featherweight title? It seems unlikely for a guy like McGregor to give in easily to the UFC’s entreaty.
However, it appears that the UFC finally found a way to yank McGregor’s microphone and keep him tight-lipped for the first time. But how?
Taking away the featherweight belt is more of a business move on the part of the UFC. The company stands to lose a large chunk of their credibility if they allowed McGregor to keep two belts.
Given that McGregor cares very much about his income from the UFC, he was left with no other choice but to say yes because it would affect his interest.
Speculation is widespread across major dailies and various websites, but here are the two main reasons.
#1 To Keep Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo threatened to leave the UFC after the organization acceded to McGregor’s desires of facing Alvarez. McGregor easily defeated Alvarez via second-round stoppage in the main event of UFC 205.
Because McGregor chose Alvarez, Aldo was publicly shunned and denied a McGregor rematch. Aldo seemed to have had enough and asked for a release from his UFC contract. The Brazilian also stressed that he no longer believes in UFC president Dana White.
Since McGregor has now officially vacated the featherweight belt, the UFC opted to promote Aldo to regular UFC featherweight champion. This is most likely a precautionary move to keep Aldo happy. Although Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar last July for the interim belt, it meant very little in the grand scheme of things.
With many of its big names such as Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Lyoto Machida and Chad Mendes sitting on the sidelines due to suspensions or injuries, the UFC could not afford to lose Aldo.
Simply letting him go or having a court battle for his release would only make things worse for the UFC. They had of course already invested copious amounts of time and money in promoting him.
To make him stay in the form of an early Christmas gift, the UFC erased the word “interim” in his designation as champion, appeasing the Brazilian.
