Is Conor McGregor About To Get His UFC Lightweight Belt Stripped?

It’s been more than 14 months since Conor McGregor stepped into the octagon, and it appears his time as champion may soon be coming to an end.

The UFC announced recently that UFC 223 will feature a fight between interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated Russian sensation Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In a press release sent by the promotion Thursday, the UFC announced Ferguson and Nurmagomedov will be holding a news conference before the UFC 220 ceremonial weigh-ins at TD Garden in Boston. In the press release, Ferguson was identified as the interim lightweight champion.

However, in a revised press release sent on Friday, the UFC no longer identified Ferguson as the interim champion, but still called the bout a title fight. You don’t have to be a genius to assume that this means the UFC could be stripping McGregor of the lightweight belt and using the UFC 223 bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov to determine who will be the undisputed lightweight champion.

The UFC told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that the reason for the revised press release was to announce the “on-sale date for tickets.”

So now, we wait to see if the UFC announces anything of substance regarding the state of the lightweight division. But all signs indicate that this could be the end for McGregor as lightweight champion.