Edson Barboza urges UFC to ‘take the belt’ from Conor McGregor
With the UFC’s lightweight division coming to a standstill as Conor McGregor prepares for a boxing match, one of the division’s top contenders has called for the UFC to strip the title from the champion.
Since winning the belt from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on November 12th last year, McGregor’s position within the UFC has been up in the air as the brief dual-champion knocked heads with the promotion. Now that McGregor is set to face Floyd Mayweather however, any return to the UFC for ‘The Notorious One’ would mean that the 155 lbs belt would not be defended for over a year and the number 5 ranked Edson Barboza has taken umbrage with the wait.
Speaking on the ‘Fight Society’ podcast, Barboza explained his malcontent with the lack of action from the UFC and the perceived double standards being employed:
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.
The Brazilian would then expand on his reasoning for wanting the belt taken from McGregor citing his supposed temporary absence from the sport:
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.