We have yet to hear from Conor McGregor on the loss of his UFC featherweight belt but his coach is not one bit happy.
McGregor, as we now know, has lost his UFC featherweight belt after a weekend announcement by the promotion. John Anik told viewers of UFC Fight Night 101 that McGregor had agreed to relinquish his belt but Kavanagh does not agree.
In an interview with Cork’s Red FM, Kavanagh questioned the logic of a move that came about swiftly when UFC 206 lost its main event – a light heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony Johnson. Kavanagh said:
“For me, personally, I was very disappointed with how they went about doing it. It was a messy set of circumstances.
“They lost their main event and they haphazardly threw together a new main event.”
BREAKING: DC out due to injury, @BlessedMMA & @ShowtimePettis headline #UFC206 for the interim featherweight strap! pic.twitter.com/CrdaUEK5yR
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 27, 2016
Kavanagh criticised the decision to make Anthont Pettis versus Max Holloway [the new main event] for an interim featherweight belt. As for Jose Aldo being elevated from interim champion, Kavanagh was far from convinced. He remarked:
“They felt they had to make this for a title in order for it to sell so they brought in another interim title that Jose Aldo already has and then bumped Aldo up to the current, undisputed champion. Which just seems ridiculous to me.”
“[It] has only been 11 months since he won that title. There have been many examples of fighters waiting 15 months, 18 months before defending it. He’s 11 months and they stripped him of it.”
“I thought it was very shortsighted by the UFC [and] how they went about doing it.”
The views of Kavanagh would certainly seem to back up claims from MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani that McGregor, who now just holds the lightweight title, was content to “relinquish” his 145 lb belt.
Dick Clerkin makes his GAA Hour debut to talk about a wonderful career and argue passionately with Colm Parkinson over Sky Sports GAA. Subscribe here on iTunes.
