Conor McGregor should be stripped of belt unless he defends it: Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo, who lost the featherweight belt to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, has said the UFC should strip McGregor of his lightweight belt if he’s not willing to defend it.
At a recent a media day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and reported by Bloody Elbow Aldo said the UFC needed "to do what has to be done".
"You take the belt away or make him defend it. I think everyone is waiting for that.”
McGregor and Tony Ferguson have been involved in some social media sparring and Aldo, 31, believes ‘El Cucuy’ has what it takes to dethrone the Irish legend.
“He has to defend it, has to put his belt on the line in order to become champion. He only won the title. For me, Ferguson has great possibilities of becoming champion in the future.”
Meanwhile in an interview at the weekend former UFC fighter and two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir has said the UFC should punish Conor McGregor following the brawl he was involved in at the Bellator cage event in Dublin.
In a wide ranging interview with Russia Today sport Mir said that despite the Irishman’s role in its financial success the UFC needed to ensure ’some consequences have to come’ or the organisation would be facing a media disaster.
Mir, who signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA and will take a part in their heavyweight Grand Prix next year, went on:
"I think that they have to do something with Conor. They don’t want to, I’m sure. For the UFC Conor McGregor is the biggest cash cow that they have.
"He makes a lot of money for the organization. In one sense, a lot of success gives you a lot of leeway, the opportunities to get away with things. But because of the way the media is now in the world, everybody has a phone on them, everybody can voice an opinion. So it’s almost kind of a backlash now. Being famous makes you actually being more careful. You don’t get privileges that people got 15-20 years ago.
"Now, because of the backlash the UFC would receive by not doing something to Conor, they have to. There has to be some kind of consequences, because they’ve shown in the past with other fighters they had, that if they touch the referee they got released.
I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin. While trying to… https://t.co/0uKE8zt2xD
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 14, 2017
"Regardless of apologizing or not. So even though, obviously, they aren’t going to release Conor – and I think most people understand why they wouldn’t – some kind of consequences have to come.
"Being silent and doing nothing would be a media disaster for them."
Watch Mir’s full interview here:
