Conor McGregor has expressed his excitement at the new direction of the UFC, including Islam Makhachev dropping his lightweight title.
Former two-weight world champion McGregor has a long-standing feud with Makhachev and his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov dating back to his 2018 fight with the latter. He has a strong dislike for the fighting style that comes from Dagestani fighters, and rarely has much positive to say about them.
Now, McGregor has given his take on a slew of announcements from UFC boss Dana White, which includes the news that Makhachev has given up his world title. The Russian now moves up to welterweight in pursuit of a second belt against Jack Della Maddalena.
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Conor McGregor excited at UFC announcements – including Islam Makhachev vacating title
On Tuesday night, Dana White took to Instagram Live to announce a string of major UFC fights. Included amongst them were Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 319 as well as Ilia Topuria’s chance to become lightweight champion against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.
White noted that Topuria vs Oliveira is for the vacant lightweight title, meaning that Makhachev has officially given up the belt. He has already defended the title more than anyone in history, and now heads to welterweight in pursuit of Jack Della Maddalena’s newly-won belt.
McGregor delighted in this news, tweeting overnight: “Wow! Real exciting times again in the UFC! Oh Yes! Bravo, Dana White! Never a doubt!”
He also tagged his promotion BKFC, the TKO Group who owns WWE, UFC as well as a new boxing venture and a host of his own companies alongside money bag emojis. His companies included Tidl Sport, Forged Irish Stout and his media outlet The Mac Life.
Conor McGregor’s UFC return remains up in the air
While McGregor has a lot to say about current fighters, less is known about his plan to return to the octagon. He was due to face Michael Chandler last year at UFC 303, before pulling out with a broken toe and allowing his rival to fight twice more.
Nowadays, he appears more interested in his presidential ambitions in Ireland and promoting BKFC events. McGregor recently declared that he is happy with his legacy, leaning in the direction of a more permanent retirement.
His last fight came at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier in a trilogy bout which saw him suffer a gruesome broken leg. He has fully recovered, but it seems that a return to the octagon is low on his list of priorities right now.