Simple reason Conor should NOT vacate the FW title.

[Not A Real Fan]

He just won the belt 3 months ago!

Other champs have gone 6 months to a year or more without defending. On average, champs defend every six months or so. Werdum won in June 2015 and hasn't defended once. Cormier last defended in October and won't defend again till next month. Robbie Lawler last fought in early January. At the earliest, he won't defend again until UFC 200 (July).

If the FW title is vacated so soon, the new champ will be seen as even more illegitimate than Cormier. Which is a shame because Edgar would ragdoll Conor with ease. Other FWs have a great chance at beating the newly exposed FW champ.

Let Conor get beaten by Nate at 200 and let him defend and lose the title later in the year.

 

[Isthat-yo bop]

True dat

 

[welcometohavoc]

Other champs have also defended their belt. No champion in history has won a belt and then immediately started fighting outside the weightclass without defending it. He's a paper champion until he defends it

 

[jeremyemilio]

You guys are all assuming that Conor feels that he can keep making FW.

There's a pretty decent chance that he always planned to vacate the belt... but he wanted to capture the LW belt first.

I think he gambled and put on a bit of weight, and now with the loss he has a decision to make between busting his hump and going back to FW to attempt a title reign at a weight he doesn't like, or to just stay up and try to make a go of it at a heavier weight.

If he fights Nate at WW at 200, we'll have a good idea of what he decided.

 

[The Notorious Two]

No point in vacating the title unless he gets injured for at least a year.If Diaz is a way to go @200 then have Conor defend @202.

 

[Paynebringer]

As so eloquently put by welcometohavoc other champs have defended their belt. All those champs you mentioned waited and defended their belts if Conor was doing that then all this debate would not be. But he's fighting out of his weight class just for pride & money, when their are two very viable contenders waiting to do work. He accused the LW division of being "Stuck in the mud" now it seems Conor is the stick in the mud of the FW division.

 

[EXOICHO]

Other champs have also defended their belt. No champion in history has won a belt and then immediately started fighting outside the weightclass without defending it. He's a paper champion until he defends it

he defended his championship againt jose aldo buddy

 

[jeff7b9]

So Frankie is healthy and ready to fight?

Last I heard that was not the case. So what's the problem?

 

[CasterMard]

He shouldn't be stripped of the belt before October. He can fight at 200 and then defend in September/October. 9 or 10 months between defending the title is okay.

 

[Sgt Smith]

By the time he defends it, he'll have held it for at least 10 months. All the while without being injured. Say he gets injured at 200, and it could easily be a year before we see a FW title fight. I think it's bad business, but I don't sign the checks.

 

[ReadWrite]

Simple reason is he should fight Nate for that belt.

Rematch not at FW is weak sauce.

Diaz has the right to take everything from Macgregor, his reputation and title.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Other champs have also defended their belt. No champion in history has won a belt and then immediately started fighting outside the weightclass without defending it. He's a paper champion until he defends it

Let alone twice fight outside their weight class without defending once.

 

[Ashenthorn]

Conor will probably end up vacating the belt eventually, but who really cares? Conor is beyond UFC belts. Anybody who fights him now is fighting for the Conor belt. Nate Diaz thought he won it, only to find out Conor changed the rules and you have to beat him twice to really win it.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Simple reason is he should fight Nate for that belt.

Rematch not at FW is weak sauce.

Diaz has the right to take everything from Macgregor, his reputation and title.

Diaz doesn't want to have a kidney transplant later in life just to fight at 145. He lives a healthy life and looking like McGregor at weigh ins at 145 is counter productive to that.

 

[KillerElite]

he defended his championship againt jose aldo buddy

You are stupid. Interim Belt is a glorified number one contendership. Learn English.

 

[Exbawks]

he defended his championship againt jose aldo buddy

An interim belt is not the undisputed belt, they are two completely different things. So no, he hasn't defended his belt.

 

[eagles1139]

I think what's going on is pretty obvious - Conor is never going to fight at 145 again. Why torture your body just to defend a belt that doesn't really mean anything, when you're making multi-millions every fight no matter who you are fighting? The plan was this: Beat Nate, fight Lawler for the welterweight belt. Obviously that didn't work out. But I still think he's going to stick to the plan and never go back down to 45.

If they don't strip Conor of the title soon it's only for marketing purposes, so they can continue to call him champion. I think if he beats Nate (doubt it) he will ask for the Dos Anjos fight again.

 

[fortheo]

So Frankie is healthy and ready to fight?

Last I heard that was not the case. So what's the problem?

Frankie asked several times to fight Conor at UFC200. He's ready.

 

[Paynebringer]

he defended his championship againt jose aldo buddy

You to the back of the mma knowledge class....

 

[IBeLurkin]

He shouldn't be stripped of the belt before October. He can fight at 200 and then defend in September/October. 9 or 10 months between defending the title is okay.

Seriously? 9-10 months between defenses is OK?

That should be only in outstanding circumstances like injuries, not the norm.

I remember not too long ago the Cloner fanbois attacking Aldo savagely because he didn't defend often enough, and Aldo defended the belt twice a year.