The difference a weight class makes.
To draw comparisons between Conor McGregor’s MMA career and the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears, featherweight was too light, welterweight was too heavy, but lightweight appears to be just right for the Notorious.
When he weighed in for his 145 lb title fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December 2015, he came in bang on championship weight. The use of IVs for rehydration were banned for this event and the Dubliner looked like he could have used one as he stepped onto the scales dehydrated, drawn-out and resembling his own skeleton.
Flash forward almost three months later to UFC 196. McGregor had been training for a crack at then UFC lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos, but an injury forced him out of the event on extremely short notice.
Instead, he was matched up against top lightweight Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout. McGregor weighed in at 168 lbs on that occasion, looking like a completely different person to his 145 lb self.
His next fight was of course the Diaz rematch at UFC 202. Again, McGregor came in at 168, although he appeared to be a bit leaner after preparing specifically for that weight class.
On Friday he tipped the scales under the limit at 154.4 lbs for his champion vs champion superfight against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205’s headliner.
A little bit trimmer than welterweight, but a hell of a lot more filled out than featherweight, this could be a return to the weight class where he’s most comfortable.
Not long left to find out.
