Edson Barboza: Conor McGregor 'thinking about another sport,' so why doesn't UFC strip title?

The UFC lightweight division is loaded with possible title contenders. And yet, it remains on hold as champion Conor McGregor prepares for his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather later this summer.

McGregor  (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) won the belt from Eddie Alvarez last November at UFC 205 and hasn’t defended it since. By the time he does – if he does – it likely will have been more than a year since McGregor competed in MMA.

That doesn’t sit well with Edson Barboza (19-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC), who explained why in an appearance on the “Fight Society” podcast.

“Conor stays out for a long time. I don’t think he worries about the UFC, don’t worry about the division. He (doesn’t) respect us, and the UFC don’t get his belt,” said Barboza, who is No. 5 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings. “I really don’t understand why the UFC got the belt from (Germaine de Randamie) and why the UFC (doesn’t) get the belt from Conor? Take the belt (from) Conor. I really don’t understand. I think this belt in the UFC, Conor’s not a real champ.”

Of course, “Conor’s not a real champ” won’t go over well with his ardent supporters, especially when you consider how soundly he finished Alvarez for the title. But Barboza’s statement seems to be based not so much on results as it is on attitude.

“This guy is thinking about boxing; he’s thinking about another sport,” Barboza said. “He don’t think about the UFC. He don’t think about the division. That’s my job; that’s my work. I’m in the UFC to get the belt. I’m in the UFC to be the champ. I know I deserve the chance. This guy, because of him, our division is stuck. That’s not good. This guy doesn’t respect nobody. He doesn’t respect the UFC, and he’s still champ. That’s crazy.”

Certainly you could understand Barboza’s frustration, which is likely to be shared by fellow top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, and others in the division. The situation is what it is, though, and the fact remains we likely won’t have clarity on the future of the division until after McGregor-Mayweather.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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