McGregor won't vacate featherweight belt, not impressed by Aldo, Alvarez
While he's remained mum on his plans after UFC 202, Conor McGregor has no intention of vacating the UFC featherweight belt.
McGregor has yet to defend the strap, last fighting at 145 pounds when he knocked out Jose Aldo to unify the division title this past December. He'll fight at welterweight for the second time at UFC 202 this Saturday, where he'll look to avenge his loss to Nate Diaz.
Despite recently voicing his desire to win a second and third title at a time when newly crowned champions are ignoring the concept of weight class, the Irishman says he won't be relinquishing his featherweight crown anytime soon.
"That's my division. My belt. And these [guys] have been talking all kinds of stuff, so I just wanted to stand up and let them know, I'm here. Let me see what the f--- yous have. Let me see what both of you have," McGregor told The MMA Hour's Ariel Helwani on Monday. "And at the end of the fight, I'm seeing."
Jose Aldo's unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar for the interim division title at UFC 200 is the fight McGregor is referring to. A photo taken by UFC photographer Josh Hedges shows McGregor standing in the seated crowd, staring laser beams at both Aldo and Edgar as they did battle in the cage.
"Frankie can't touch him and Aldo's dancing around, playing it safe, and I'm saying fight. F---ing fight. You want this? You want this fight again? Take it. Win it. You can't play it safe like that. Where's my excitement in that? You're running away and you're just out-slapping him and that's it.
"I want to see you come and try and get that fight and really want that fight. I didn't see that. I saw the same thing I've been seeing. I saw that if we signed to fight again, he's gone running again. That's what I saw. So I just stood up like, I'm here, let's see what the f--- the two of yous have."
"The Notorious" isn't too high on newly crowned lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez either. Alvarez, who knocked out Rafael dos Anjos to win the belt, has called for a fight with the winner of McGregor-Diaz II, but the Irishman is unimpressed with his skill set.
"Right now there's a new champion, he's a bum as well. He's a novice. He's a novice on his feet, swinging shots, overhands. He just is a wrestler with an overhand as well. They're novices where I come from and that's the truth of it, so we'll see about him. We'll see."
A fight with Alvarez wouldn't be the first time McGregor attempted a move to 155 pounds. He was originally scheduled to fight dos Anjos for the lightweight strap at UFC 196. The Brazilian had to bow out due to injury, and was replaced by Diaz.