Did The UFC Kill The Featherweight Division By Stripping McGregor’s Belt?

Following a truly incredible 2016 for Conor McGregor, the now-former two-weight champion continues to make waves. After knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194, the slick-talking Irishman faced some interesting options. With contenders still rising through the ranks at 145 pounds, McGregor would instead opt to move up in weight. Booked to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196, ‘The Notorious’ caused outrage among fellow fighters and sects of angry fans. Little did we know this pattern would essentially continue for all of 2016.

Injured in the lead up to their March 5 encounter, ‘RDA’ would drop out and be replaced by Nate Diaz. Coming in on less than two weeks notice, Diaz threw a spanner in the works that would alter the course of McGregor’s ‘hype train.’ This stunning submission loss would also further complicate matters at featherweight. Again meeting at 170 pounds, McGregor and Diaz threw down at UFC 202, and it was the Irish star who was victorious after five gruelling rounds. During this period, Eddie Alvarez had wrecked dos Anjos, claiming the 155-pound belt and calling out Conor McGregor.

UFC 205

Set to square off at UFC 205 on November 12, Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor helped continue the trend of money fights. At least in the case of McGregor, we had a big draw calling shots, for the first time in UFC history. Essentially refusing to relinquish the featherweight title and holding up the top end of the division, McGregor marched in to New York determined to make history. In the same week that Alvarez had claimed UFC gold, Jose Aldo had snatched the interim belt against Frankie Edgar.

The decision to allow ‘The Notorious’ to compete for a second belt saw a huge backlash. ‘Scarface’ demanded a release from his contract, but was refused by the promotion. Claiming it would ‘take an army’ to force him to vacate one of the belts, McGregor made good on his prediction of a KO against Alvarez at UFC 205. That sacred record had finally been broken, but circumstance would see to it lasting a very short period. Although the achievement can never be stricken from the record books, the physical presence of one of the belts would last just 14 days.

Situations

Two weeks after his epic win in NYC, Conor McGregor was stripped of the belt. Maybe adding to the pressure to remove his featherweight belt were both his six-month absence to take care of his pregnant girlfriend, and also the mayhem ensuing around UFC 206. The promotion really needed a selling point for their return to Canada, and unfortunately Cormier vs. Johnson had fallen apart. Georges St-Pierre‘s rumoured comeback had also came to pieces, and so an interim belt was really the only option. Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis were shifted to the top spot, and the junior belt was on the line.

Now Aldo was promoted, McGregor was stripped, and we are left with yet more questions. Perhaps the most pertinent issue that has arisen from this wild sequence of events-did the UFC just kill the featherweight division? Although he won convincingly against Edgar, ‘Scarface’ just got handed a title, through no real fault of his own, that he had snatched from him in dominant fashion last year. Similarly to Daniel Cormier, will Aldo now be considered a ‘paper champ?”

Who’s Left?

With ‘The Answer’ out of the running for now, there are few options for big fights at 145 pounds. Yes, we have Holloway vs. Pettis, but the loser of that fight drops out of the running for at least one more bout, and the rest of the division has scattered potential. Without wanting to sound negative, the featherweight class could have become more congested without McGregor. Aldo already has two wins over Chad Mendes, one over Ricardo Lamas who is 3-2 in his last five, he’s already beaten Edgar twice, and now Jeremy Stephens drops back following his loss to Edgar. What a mess!

Outside of ‘Blessed’ and ‘Showtime,’ the viable title contenders at featherweight remain rare. That said, there’s still a ton of interesting fights to make, and so hopefully more contenders can and will emerge in the coming months. Has the UFC killed the featherweight division by stripping McGregor’s belt? Well, no, and either way the 145-pound category was going to struggle. Is Aldo a ‘paper champ?’ In my mind, not at all, but it certainly would have been good to see a rematch.

Who knows what the future holds, but one thing is for sure, it won’t be a return for Conor McGregor at featherweight.