Conor McGregor sees a massive downfall in the UFC lightweight rankings
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Conor McGregor
Several lightweight fighters entered the octagon at UFC 281 to advance in the division and make title challenges. After the UFC announced its most recent ranking update, Conor McGregor may lose his lightweight ranking. The Irishman was previously ranked No.13 but dropped a place after the latest UFC PPV event.
Conor McGregor rushed into the Lightweight scene with a bang in 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to become a two-division champion. However now it seems he has been a shadow of his former self as he ranks #14 in the lightweight division. With only one victory during his stint in the UFC Lightweight division, Conor had been clinging to his 155-pound ranking by a thread. He has lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier twice after that victory over Eddie Alvarez.
Before competing in the Lightweight division, Conor left his mark on the Featherweight division. He defeated Diego Brandao via first-round TKO to break into the top 10 of the division. He then succeeded in unseating Jose Aldo to become world champion at 145 pounds before going up to 155 pounds to compete for an unprecedented second belt. The Irishman also had a brief run in the Welterweight division where he faced Nate Diaz at UFC 196.
But the move proved to be disastrous, as McGregor was submitted by Diaz at UFC 196 in the second round. However, the two fought again later that summer at UFC 202, with the Irishman taking the victory by Majority Decision. Then he went back to trying to capture the lightweight championship, which he eventually achieved in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden defeating Eddie Alvarez.
The Irishman has been sidelined since July of last year due to a horrific broken leg he sustained during his trilogy fight with Poirier. He is currently on the verge of making his comeback. It seems he might return to the welterweight division due to the amount of muscle mass he has gained during recovery.
If McGregor is successful in making a comeback at welterweight, he plans to attempt to win his third world championship, which is unheard of in the sport. The newly minted champion Leon Edwards, who earlier this year upset the seemingly unstoppable Kamaru Usman, has a list of opponents waiting for their chance, so he will have to get in line. But despite Notorious’ bad track record and absence he still managed to be among the top draw and UFC can pull that fight.
Read More: When is multi-millionaire UFC superstar Conor McGregor’s next fight?
Dana White explained why Conor McGregor is still a ranked fighter despite inactivity
Back in 2020, Conor McGregor declared his retirement from the Octagon. Though he eventually came out of retirement in 2021 to face Dustin Poirier, everyone thought he was gone forever in the period of his absence. However, despite his absence, Conor McGregor remained a ranked fighter throughout that period.
During an interview after UFC 252 press conference, Dana White talked on the Youtube channel “The Schmo“. White was asked a series of questions before touching on the topic of why Conor McGregor was still ranked despite his absence from the action. The interviewer asked Dana why despite Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor both being retired, Conor was ranked while Cejudo was not. Replying to it Dana said, “Good point… I think uh don’t know the answer to this but Cejudo probably dropped out of the USADA, uh you know testing pool, and Conor is probably still in it ”
Fast forward to 2022 and The Notorious one has dropped out of the USADA testing pool but still barely remains a ranked fighter. His absence from the testing pool has triggered ridiculous rumors of his performance-enhancing drugs to recover faster from the injury.
UFC wants to keep its most prized fighters in its history relevant. As we all know Conor McGregor was solely responsible for creating the most-selling pay-per-views in UFC records when he faced Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. There is no denying that even at his current ranking top fighters are craving to get a match with the Irishman. The number of fighters calling McGregor out increases day by day as his return to the Octagon draws closer. Michael Chandler is one the forefront of them all and has been waiting for that fight for a long time. Most recently even veteran star Stephen Thompson has carved a delicious matchup between the two.
Also Read: Andrew Tate vs Conor McGregor Net Worth: Who is richer?
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)