November 12, 2016. That is the last time Conor McGregor was active in the UFC. He beat Eddie Alvarez that day and became the first fighter to simultaneously hold two champion belts in two different weight classes.
Since then, McGregor went on to take part in the rather significant event that was 'the money fight.' His $100 million bout with Floyd Mayweather was all the activity the Crumlin man needed this year.
Russian UFC lightweight, Khabib Nurmagomedov is in action at UFC 219 in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30. He has been touted as a possible opponent for McGregor, although feels McGregor shouldn't be the divisional champion anymore due to inactivity.
If he doesn’t have injuries, and he doesn’t defend his belt for more than a year, then it’s very bad.
But when you are the champion and you don’t have an injury, you have to defend it. I really liked how Georges St-Pierre acted in a similar situation. Once he understood, that he won’t be able to fight, he didn’t hold his division. And that’s the decision of of a real champion.
Nurmagomedov was answering live questions for Russian fans, and RT.com reports he went on to claim UFC won't act because of the profitability McGregor brings:
Conor doesn’t defend his belt. I don’t even know when he is going to do that. He has the name, it’s profitable for the UFC that he is the champion. They make money because of him and they won’t strip him off the belt. But in my opinion Conor had to be stripped off his belt a long time ago. And Tony Ferguson should be the real champion.
St-Pierre, vacated his belt at the 185-pound division a month after he beat Michael Bisping as health concerns would limit his ability to be active in the future. McGregor has recently posted indicators he has returned to training, while Dana White confirmed he is trying to work out a deal between McGregor and the UFC.
McGregor and Nurmagomedov do have history, with the pair squaring up backstage prior to the UFC 205 weigh-ins.
You can read the full RT.com report here.
