Conor McGregor is the UFC lightweight champion.
When Conor McGregor brutally knocked out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, he earned the UFC's 155 lb strap. He briefly held the promotion's lightweight and featherweight titles simultaneously with his double-champion status ending when he was forced to relinquish one of those straps.
He chose to give back the 145 lb belt he claimed with his 13-second annihilation of Jose Aldo at UFC 194. By the time he fought Alvarez, it had been nearly a full year since he'd beaten Aldo. After cultivating some mass to take back-to-back welterweight contests against Nate Diaz, it was thought that he could no longer make the 145 lb limit, especially since the use of IVs as a form of rehydration became banned.
Since McGregor left the division, Max Holloway has solidified his position as the greatest featherweight on the planet. He racked up 10-straight wins to earn the interim strap against Anthony Pettis then unified it by beating Aldo to a bloody pulp.
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Holloway has been the undisputed champion since UFC 212 and, at UFC 219, he will do what McGregor has never done before - defend his throne against a top contender. The man receiving his crack at the belt will be former lightweight king Frankie Edgar.
Despite having not competed at featherweight in nearly two years, McGregor still sees himself as the king of the division. SBG striking coach Owen Roddy explained this mindset to
Submission Radio, and it is sure to infuriate some of the Dubliner's rivals.
"In Conor's eyes, he's got his belts at home and nobody's came (sic) and beat him to get those belts. In his eyes, he's still the featherweight champion and he's still the lightweight champion."
The problem with this reasoning is that nobody has been given the opportunity to take the belts off him. He moved straight up after beating Aldo, then switched to the ring to box Mayweather after defeating 'the Underground King'. It has been impossible for anyone to take the belt off him.
This is textbook delusion from 'the Notorious,' but his unrivalled self-belief is one of the many traits that separate him from the chasing pack. In this instance, delusion is not a negative, it's very much had a positive impact on his career.
Had it not been for delusion, he probably never would have stepped into the ring to box Mayweather sure.
