As the story revolving the UFC Featherweight Title continues to unravel, more and more tidbits of information are coming out regarding the UFC’s plan for the future, Jose Aldo’s thoughts on the matter, as well as the reaction of UFC sportsbook fans. Since Conor McGregor was the man getting stripped of the title, most fans were expecting a statement from the fighter with the loudest mouth. However, the Irishman has yet to release a public statement regarding his thoughts on relinquishing the title. In the words of Ariel Helwani, McGregor’s silence is deafening.
Before UFC 205 even went down, the media drilled both UFC president Dana White and Conor McGregor about what would happen once Notorious became a dual-division champion. White vehemently expressed the fact that McGregor would have to give up one of his title, and McGregor passionately stated that the UFC would need an army to get one of those belts. Once the news broke about the Featherweight title, some online UFC betting fans were critical of McGregor, calling him a hypocrite for making such bold statements and not backing them up. However, McGregor’s silence makes it perfectly clear that the Irishman is not happy with the promotional company.
Specifically, McGregor is displeased with the lack of communication the UFC is giving him. At the post-205 press conference McGregor announced that the UFC needed to come talk to him and that he wanted to sit with the owners and get a stake of the company. It appears that the UFC has ignored his requests, choosing instead to try and give those who are betting on MMA something to look forward to at UFC 206.
206 marks the first major event the UFC is holding after the biggest night in company history. The UFC knows that it needs some major names to draw attention to the fight, considering that it will be incomparable to 205. Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson 2 was certainly the rematch to draw UFC sportsbook fans attention, but once Cormier pulled out due to an injury the UFC knew it had to do a major reworking of the fight card. Ultimately that reworking resulted in Conor McGregor being stripped of his title prematurely.
Due to neither side being vocal about the process, no one was quite sure what was going on internally within the UFC. However, it is now abundantly clear that the reason McGregor was stripped was to give the Holloway vs. Pettis fight more importance. No one’s saying the Irishman should’ve kept both belts, but the fact that the UFC went behind his back and exercised their right to take the title is a clear sign of disrespect to their biggest fighter. With their actions they have caused UFC sportsbook fans to sympathize with McGregor, and whatever he decides to do, he will have the world to back him up.
