Conor McGregor’s sights still set on two-weight UFC championship glory

CONOR McGregor‘s next move has been the topic of much discussion within the MMA world, and we may soon find out who he’ll be facing next.

The UFC featherweight champion hasn’t defended his title since knocking out Jose Aldo to win the belt back in December last year, and his tilt at the UFC lightweight title took an unexpected turn when Rafael dos Anjos pulled out injured and he was beaten by short-notice replacement Nate Diaz in a non-title fight.

New York-bound? Conor McGregor has been linked with a lightweight title fight with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205[/caption]

That loss stung the Irishman, who temporarily put his quest for gold on the back burner to avenge his loss to Diaz with a thrilling win at UFC 202.

But now the big question concerns his next move. Does he drop back down to 145lbs and make the first defence of his title, or will he move to the 155lb division and challenge lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for his title?

McGregor has made no secret of his desire to become a two-weight champion in the UFC, having accomplished the feat already in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship.

But his quest to become the first UFC fighter to hold two title belts simultaneously has upset some, who feel the time has come for him to either defend his belt, or vacate his title in order to move on to fresh challenges.

UFC president Dana White told FOX Sports after McGregor’s win at UFC 202 that he’d have to either defend or vacate his title, saying: “We’re definitely not doing this (McGregor v Diaz) a third time right now,”

“I mean, I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t want to see this fight again, but Conor’s either going to defend his title or give his title up.”

But while White was giving that line to FOX Sports, McGregor said he didn’t expect to be stripped of his title.

“I don’t think they’re gonna do that,” he said. “I mean, how can they do that?

“If they wanna do that – if they wanna give my belt to the guy I KO’d in 13 seconds (interim champ Jose Aldo) and bury that division in the prelims or Fight Pass stuff, cause that’s what they’re gonna do – we’ll see.

“How can they do that? What would that do to the division if the guy I KO’d in 13 seconds is the unified champion?”

Hanging on to his belt: UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor[/caption]

The Dubliner also hinted that some tough negotiations may lie ahead, saying: “We’ve got a lot to talk about.

“But I’m in a beautiful, beautiful position right now. And that was built through hard work and I’m gonna capitalise on that.

“There’s a lot of stuff in the pipeline. The s**t’s about to hit the fan, I feel. So we’ll see.”

And his latest Instagram post may have given a slight hint at his next move, as he posted a pic of himself wearing gold-rimmed sunglasses and a gold watch with the one-word caption: “Gold”.

And that penchant for gold could see him in action in New York city on Saturday November 12 when the UFC makes its long-awaited debut in the Big Apple.

The most likely bout would see McGregor facing Alvarez for the lightweight title as the Dubliner bids to become only the third athlete (after BJ Penn and Randy Couture) to become a two-weight UFC world champion.

But will he still go into that bout as the UFC’s undisputed featherweight king? That remains to be seen…