Reports: McGregor to be stripped of lightweight title

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will be stripped of his title this weekend to allow Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight for it, according to reports.

The Irish fighter has not fought since claiming the 155-pound title in November 2016, and in that time Ferguson has risen to claim the interim belt.

McGregor has apparently been in talks over a defence in August, but the UFC is apparently unwilling to wait that long.

Quoting sources close to Nurmagomedov, Russian website Tass said that McGregor will be officially stripped of his title after Ferguson and the Russian signed up to fight for the belt on April 7 in New York.

Breaking! I have confirmed with sources that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight for the undisputed UFC lightweight title at #UFC223 in Brooklyn. The bout will be made official later this week. McGregor will be stripped of his title. The bout was 1st reported by TASS — Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) January 16, 2018

The bout will be announced at the next UFC event in Boston on Sunday when heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic meet, the report said.

McGregor was also stripped of his featherweight belt last year for inactivity.

“I don’t think Conor wants to fight until August,” White said recently. “But if he waits until August or September, that’s around two years since the belt has been defended, and that can’t happen.”

“Not only to the sport, but to the other fighters. This is game of time. Time is your enemy in this sport, or any other sport.

“When you’re a professional athlete, time is your enemy, and we can’t let this thing go on forever and not give other guys the opportunity.

“Tony Ferguson has been around for a long time and has earned his dues, Khabib has earned his dues, and the list goes on and on.”

Nurmagomedov was originally scheduled to fight Ferguson in March last year, but the Russian was hospitalised after suffering problems during his weight cut.