Now that his coffers have been filled, Conor McGregor is putting his legacy first.
In his first public appearance since pocketing an estimated nine-figure payday for his superfight with Floyd Mayweather, the UFC champ said he's shifting his focus from moneyweight fights to 155-pound title fights. The 29-year-old hasn't defended any of the four world titles he's won as a professional cagefighter, but he appeared intent on changing that when speaking to Caroline Pearce in Glasgow on Friday.
"I’ve already gone from the highest of the high in terms of a money fight. Now the question I always get is about defending the belt and legitimizing the sport and the rankings," McGregor said at "An Evening with Conor McGregor," according to MMA Fighting's Peter Carroll.
"Maybe now it would be a good time for me to go and do that and shut that side up."
While the winner of UFC 216's interim championship bout between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee is expected to then unify the divisional crown opposite McGregor next, the Irishman did acknowledge he and rival Nate Diaz have a score to settle. However, he suspects Diaz's designs on a big payday could backfire on him, leaving the soon-to-be-interim champ as the frontrunner for his return to the Octagon.
"Look, I’ve got the UFC title to defend and that means something to me. I will defend that world title.
"Nathan (Nate Diaz) is there. He’s trying to come in here and make all of these demands. If he starts pricing himself out of an event, I probably will defend against the person who wins this interim belt … or someone along that line to legitimize it again."
McGregor wouldn't commit to a single dance partner, nor to a timeline for his next sighting in four-ounce gloves, opting instead to revisit the lay of the land once Ferguson and Lee have duked it out.
"In my head now, I’m very interested in seeing this fight this weekend and to see how the lightweight title picture pans out and to go in and correct that whole situation. That’s where my thoughts are."
That being said, the lightweight king insisted a rubber match with Diaz is still on his docket.
"It’s 1-1 and that has to happen. It will happen. The more I spend time away from it, I think I’ve already done all of the money fights. Now, to legitimize a title and to bring it back, I could potentially bring it back."
McGregor also entertained a litany of other names to share the marquee with, from Khabib Nirmagomedov to Justin Gaethje to Max Holloway - even Mayweather and retired boxer-turned-nemesis Paulie Malignaggi.
The last time he saw the Octagon came last November at UFC 205, where he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the second round to capture the lightweight crown.
