Ever since Conor McGregor announced his ambitions to be the first fighter to hold two belts in as many weight classes simultaneously in the UFC, the promotion’s president, Dana White, maintained that the Irishman could not hang on to both of his straps for too long even if he were to achieve this feat.
Now that ‘Mystic Mac’ has done what he said he would do, so has Dana White, as the Notorious One was forced to give up his 145lbs belt. It’s no real surprise that everyone has something to say on the issue, except the Champ himself, Conor Mcgregor.
The news that was announced in the wake of Daniel Cormier pulling out of UFC 206, implied that Jose Aldo would be promoted to the position of reigning Champion, while Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway face off for the Interim Championship. When it was made official, both challengers for the newly vacated Interim belt, took to Twitter to express their joy:
UFC Featherweight, Cub Swanson, took the opportunity to applaud both fighters saying that the two deserved the shot they were given.
On the other hand, fellow Featherweight, Cole Miller brought up a poignant question that was met with equal parts dissent and agreement. Here’s what he tweeted out after the announcement was made:
When a fan brought up that Aldo was now the Champion of the division, Miller responded with another question:
On the lighter side, 25-year-old UFC Welterweight, Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry, gave the Internet a preview to his future in the promotion:
Although the Irish Champion has still not responded to the announcement or any of the backlash it has received, his coach John Kavanagh responded with an image, to sum up the situation, when asked about his thoughts on it:
The common opinion seems to be that Mcgregor gave up his belt rather reluctantly. Mmafighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed the announcement after it was made but maintained that McGregor never agreed to it.
Retired UFC Veteran Stephen Bonnar also chimed in with his two cents on the issue but opted to use humour instead:
Of course, the Internet itself had more than its fair share to say on the topic and here’s one that sure to put a smile on your face:
The Irishman’s fanbase, which seems to be growing in numbers every hour and a few former haters, also took to the Internet to shoot at what they thought wasn't the most consistent of decisions by the promotion.
On the other hand, many others rejoiced at the fact that the division was no longer ‘held up’:
