Conor McGregor to UFC: 'You're fooling nobody' by crowning new featherweight champs

In his first public comment on his alleged relinquishment of the UFC featherweight title, lightweight champ Conor McGregor claims he didn’t give up any belt, and doesn’t plan to.

“They’re trying to strip me. I’m like, ‘Nah, I ain’t stripped. I’ve still got that belt,’” McGregor said during an impromptu appearance at The Devenish restaurant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which was caught on video (via YouTube). “That belt’s still at home right now. I’m still the two-weight world champion. Someone’s got to come take that off me.

“I see articles. I see stuff online. But I don’t see the belt not in my presence.”

McGregor, who’s No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, might have seen the report in which his promoter, UFC President Dana White, pretty much contradicted everything he said. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, White said he wanted to clear a logjam in the featherweight division due to McGregor’s conquests at lightweight and welterweight, and refuted a claim from the fighter’s coach that the featherweight belt was taken away to save UFC 206.

“Do you think I just did this? This was Conor’s decision,” White told the site.

But on a makeshift stage at the Irish restaurant, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) gave the distinct impression it wasn’t his idea to lose a belt – and give it to Jose Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), the champ he knocked out in 13 seconds – after capturing the lightweight title with a knockout of Eddie Alvarez (28-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) this past month at UFC 205.

Asked whether the featherweight belt was stripped or relinquished, he laughed.

“Eddie’s still unconscious – what do you mean?” he said. “I only fought last week.”

McGregor added: “Them belts are mine. Whatever they want to say, and they can say, ‘Ah, we took the belt, and now it’s this guy’s belt.’ You can play with those fake belts all you want. Jose was KOd, Eddie was KOd, you’re looking at the two-weight world champion, and that’s it. That’s it. I’ll say to the UFC, and I love the company, you’re fooling nobody. You’re fooling nobody with that. But best of luck to them.”

McGregor will need a little bit of luck if he hopes to pursue another interest in boxing, one he said came about as the result of retired boxing kingpin Floyd Mayweather’s callout, which he said was leaked to the media this past year.

McGregor recently surprised the MMA and boxing world by getting a boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission, leading to speculation he would seek a fight with Mayweather.

“Now, it’s their move now,” McGregor said. “I’ve presented myself. Here I have the boxing license. Since I’ve got that boxing license, Floyd’s fat boxing manager came out and was like, ‘Floyd’s in the Bahamas. He doesn’t care about Conor.’ Well, I don’t give a (expletive) about Floyd, either.

“If you don’t want this fight, that’s no problem. Because other than the Floyd-Manny (Pacquiao) gate numbers, I hold all the numbers, other than that one fight. So I don’t need Floyd. I do not need him.”

What McGregor really needs – if he wants to avoid a lengthy legal battle – is the permission of White and the UFC, which holds him under contract.

But as you’d expect, McGregor isn’t paying that much mind. The call of boxing is right in front of him, and despite his role in the UFC and impending fatherhood, he’s got plans for the square circle. The only question is when it happens.

“If I took out all those different disciplines and focused with the work ethic that I have on the sport of boxing, there’s not telling what I could do,” he said. “I wouldn’t go in there just to show up. I’d go in there to knock him out. He can be hit. He’s been hit before. Age waits for no man, also. So I know they know that. I know the size, the reach and the youth is on my side. There’s a lot to lose for them. So that’s why they’re scrambling.

“But that’s OK. I’ve got some other boxing opportunities and potential opponents in mind, some previous Floyd opponents. I can bring in anyone in the game. We’ll see what happens.”

For complete coverage of UFC 205, check out the UFC Events section of the site.