Jose Aldo prepares for his featherweight title fight against Conor McGregor during UFC 194. (Photo : Getty Images/Steve Marcus)
The reign of Conor McGregor as a two-division UFC champion lasted for only two weeks as he had to relinquish the featherweight title. Jose Aldo was declared as the new champion but Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis will fight at UFC 206 for the interim featherweight championship.
According to FOX Sports, the UFC has confirmed that they have stripped McGregor of the featherweight title. It happened because he has not defended the belt since winning it from Aldo at UFC 194 last December 12, 2015.
"Notorious" went on to fight Nate Diaz twice this year before winning the lightweight championship from Eddie Alvarez. The report noted that McGregor will focus on defending the lightweight strap rather than stay down at featherweight.
Aldo, who won the interim title after defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 200, was promoted to featherweight champion. It should be noted that McGregor knocked out the Brazilian at UFC 194 in just 13 seconds.
Also, Aldo will likely fight the winner of the Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis fight. The fight is now going to be for the interim featherweight championship, as well as the main event of UFC 206, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
Holloway vs. Pettis replaced the Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Rumble fight due to Cormier getting injured in training. Holloway has won nine straight fights since losing to McGregor back in 2013 at UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun.
The 24-year-old has improved since that loss wherein he defeated the likes of Cole Miller, Cubs Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens and Ricardo Lamas. On the other hand, Pettis is coming off a win against Oliveira.
That fight is the Pettis' featherweight debut and the win ended his three-fight losing streak. Since winning the lightweight title in 2013, he defended the belt once before losing to Rafael Dos Anjos. He then lost to Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza before defeating Oliveira.
As for McGregor, he is not scheduled to have any fights until May next year. He is set to take some time off for the birth of his first child. He has also demanded a share with the UFC and threatened that he is not going to fight unless he gets what he earned.
Check out the video below to watch McGregor defeat Holloway at UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun.
