UFC/MMA News: Conor McGregor shatters the record for the longest UFC title reign without a defense

What's the story?

Conor McGregor is good at many things; defending championship titles certainly isn't one of them. The UFC's golden boy has demolished the record for the longest UFC title reign without attempting a title defense. The previous record was held by former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (462 days).

In case you didn't know...

Conor McGregor last fought Eddie Alvarez at the UFC 205 pay-per-view, which was held back in 2016 in New York. The brash Irishman scored an emphatic second-round TKO to win the lightweight title, becoming a two-division champion in the process.

The heart of the matter

The day was November 12, 2016, when Conor McGregor created history by becoming the first fighter in the UFC to hold two championship titles simultaneously. Shortly thereafter, the Irishman vacated his featherweight title and decided to hang on to the lightweight title.

Cut to the present, the Irishman has created history yet again, albeit for a reason that no MMA fighter or fan would appreciate. It's been 465 days since McGregor stepped into the octagon to compete and, more importantly, defend his lightweight title.

But this should hardly come as a surprise as the Irishman has never defended any of his championship titles (including his Cage Warriors titles) throughout his MMA career. Even his UFC featherweight title reign lasted 350 days without him ever having to defend the title.

What's next?

Dana White said during a press conference that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight for the undisputed lightweight title in the main event at UFC 223, which is slated to take place on April 7, 2018, in New York. However, the current "undisputed" champion McGregor is yet to vacate or be stripped of the title.

Apparently, the Irishman will get the opportunity to fight the winner of the Tony-Khabib fight for the lightweight title when (or if) he chooses to return. Also, it is rumored that McGregor will complete the trilogy with Nate Diaz in the near future. We just might see this happen while Tony and Khabib lock horns.

Author's take

Since beating Jose Aldo to become the UFC featherweight champion back in December 2015, McGregor has been focusing only on "money fights". And in his last fight, which was a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, the Irishman made the kind of money that makes his past UFC salaries look like meager earnings.

So, at this point, it seems unlikely that McGregor is contemplating a long, illustrious MMA career with multiple title defenses.