Edson Barboza doesn’t believe Conor McGregor should be recognized as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title holder.
McGregor is the reigning 155-pound champion, but he won’t be defending his title until at least the end of 2017. On Aug. 26, he’ll battle Floyd Mayweather in a boxing “super fight.”
During a recent appearance on the “Fight Society” podcast, Barboza said “Notorious” should be stripped of his gold (via MMAJunkie.com):
“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. 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.”
He went on to say that McGregor is only focused on boxing and not giving mixed martial arts any thought.
“This guy is thinking about boxing; he’s thinking about another sport. 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.”
