With Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) featherweight champion Conor McGregor proving to be worth the risk, UFC President Dana White justifies his move to allow the Irishman to compete in the lightweight division without having to relinquish his title.
Under normal circumstances, the UFC asks fighters to vacate their current title if they plan to fight in a different weight class. Proof of that is former champion Jose Aldo who claims he had the same plans years ago but was told to abandon the belt and fight without it.
The exemption is, apparently, because McGregor has been able to deliver despite the adversities and White is confident that he can succeed despite facing a tougher opponent in Rafael dos Anjos.
"He's done everything that he said he would since the day he set foot in here. He said he would fight four times a year. He really likes money," says White, according to Yahoo Sports. "I believe that he will do it."
For Aldo, it seems a bit overboard, but the fact remains that McGregor is indeed a big draw and revenue generating fighter for the UFC as of late. If Aldo carried the same level of popularity, then perhaps he would have been given the same treatment as well.
McGregor has placed himself in a comforting win-win situation, although not many are confident he can overcome dos Anjos who has taken on all challengers in the lightweight division. That includes Aldo who, incidentally, is a close friend of dos Anjos.
The good news is that even if he loses, McGregor remains the featherweight champion. Waiting in the wings is Frankie Edgar, but Aldo is batting that it should be him getting a rematch since he was the former champion.
Aldo lost to McGregor in just 13 seconds at UFC 194, a match wherein McGregor was also an underdog. Can "The Notorious" prove critics wrong once more against dos Anjos?
