No matter what Dana White claims, nothing he has told us so far has made the UFC lightweight title picture any clearer.
The first question Dana White was asked at the UFC's 25th-anniversary press conference was about Conor McGregor. At that time, he had no update to give on the lightweight champion but vaguely announced that the winner of UFC 223's headliner would get the 'real belt.'
When the inevitable follow-up question about Conor McGregor being stripped was asked, White responded, 'We'll see what happens.'
White cheekily made a joke out of Brett Okomoto's attempt to get a clearer answer. The UFC president asked the ESPN reporter what time he arrived at the press conference while looking down at an imaginary watch on his naked wrist. A smile washed over his face as he repeated, 'We'll see what happens.'
When Ariel Helwani grabbed hold of the microphone to finally get some sort of confirmation, White replied, 'next question.'
The 'real belt'?
Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been booked to fight for a UFC lightweight belt in Brooklyn. At the time of writing, McGregor has yet to be stripped of the 155 lb strap he won against Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. Although White has repeatedly said the victor will get the 'real title,' this doesn't make sense if McGregor is in possession of it.
A TMZ reporter recently asked White,
"All the fans want to know are you going to strip Conor of his belt before the Khabib-Ferguson fight?"
There are only two direct responses to this question. Either the answer is 'yes' and they will revoke McGregor's title or the answer is 'no' and he will remain as lightweight champion.
White replied with,
"I said in the last press conference that fight will be for the title. It's not for the interim title. That fight is for the title."
The reporter refused to give up that easily. He continued, "So Conor will presumably be stripped a week before..."
After letting the silence hang for a second or two, White chuckled, "That fight will be for the title."
This was quickly followed up with, "So that means you have to strip Conor then." White sharply responded with, 'Right.'
White commented that McGregor has earned so much money that he may never fight again. He also added that 'the Notorious' isn't upset about UFC 223's headliner.
“Is he upset? No, Conor understands. Conor made a lot of money, he wants some time off, but the division has to go on and the business has to go on."
Of course he's not upset, he still has his belt!
