The big news of the week in UFC was the announcement of a lightweight title fight between champion Eddie Alvarez and superstar Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 205.
McGregor is still the official champion at featherweight, but UFC president Dana White still put him in the match with Alvarez. McGregor has long wanted to become just the third man in UFC history to win a title at two weights and the first to hold them simultaneously.
White said on Tuesday that McGregor will have to pick a belt should he beat Alvarez in November.
"He wants to try to gain both belts, and he will give up one of the titles after that fight in New York," White said on SportsCenter.
McGregor had stated previously that he wanted to defend two belts at the same time when he was making plans to fight former lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 197. White had initially seemed willing to allow that to happen, but now McGregor will have to choose whether he wants to fight at 145 pounds or 155 pounds after the bout.
An Alvarez victory would make the decision easy for McGregor, who would go back to 145 pounds and take on Jose Aldo in his next bout to unify his title and the interim featherweight title. However, if McGregor wins, it would seem to point to him staying at lightweight where he could begin new rivalries in a fresh division with contenders he's yet to face.
So while the win would make McGregor the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time, we now know that would be a short-lived accomplishment.
