The UFC wants Khabib as the real champ (if he wins) but Tony as the interim champ (if he wins) .

[Not A Real Fan]

This is the reason there is confusion as to the status of the title fight.

If Khabib wins, the UFC does not want to debut in Russia with him as the interim champion. They'll want to present him as the undisputed champ. But if Tony wins, there's not a similar compelling reason for him to be the real champion. He'll remain the interim champ with the UFC hoping the titles will be unified later in the year.

Khabib becoming the real champ means Conor will be stripped. Thus Conor will never have to fight Khabib and be publicly humiliated. He'll instead have fun money fights from here on out. Maybe even retire (from MMA) for good.

As between Khabib and Tony, Conor will only come back to fight Tony. This is why Tony will remain the interim champ if he beats Khabib.

So yes, the fight is for the real title...if Khabib wins. I believe this decision will be made after the final bell.

 

[SVG]

I think neither, he's still waiting for his son to pull one out of the bag.

 

[TehJesus]

Source or GTFO.

 

[Kung Fu bb]

"they´re fighting for some belt, but they don´t know which one".

That doesn´t make any sense.

So that´s probably what´s gonna happen.

 

[chinarice]

Tony is actually willing to defend, therefore, he is the real champ.

 

[loisestrad]

So, Conor is the champ. That's the way it is.

Strip Conor, and he's still the champ.

Unless Conor loses, he's the champ.

 

[tommi462]

So, Conor is the champ. That's the way it is.

Strip Conor, and he's still the champ.

Unless Conor loses, he's the champ.

Clever of him to not fight, then. Can't lose if you don't fight. Champ forever.

 

[giusti825]

if Tony wins, there's not a similar compelling reason for him to be the real champion.

This sentence contradicts itself

 

[loisestrad]

Clever of him to not fight, then. Can't lose if you don't fight. Champ forever.

To some point, yes. Were Conor to retire today, he would be considered the actualo champ for a long time, and he would always be considered a "what if".

 

[Reach4theSky]

Tony getting no respect. What does a guy have to do?

He's the only one out of the three thats been consistent and ready to fight..

imo Tony is the true LW champ..

 

[tommi462]

To some point, yes. Were Conor to retire today, he would be considered the actualo champ for a long time, and he would always be considered a "what if".

Maybe to some. To some a guy who has one single win at 155 and zero defenses of either belt wouldn't mean much at all.

 

[ninja boot]

if the ufc would just mandate that their champs have x amount of time to defend the belts and stick to it they wouldn't be in this mess. suggesting a fighter is in the ring at least once a year isn't too much to ask. should they get injured along the way make the standard that they are offered an immediate title shot against the current champ when they do heal up.
the goal should be to keep the damn ball rolling. letting their champ box one time and lose motivation has been a total flop for the fans.

 

[loisestrad]

Maybe to some. To some a guy who has one single win at 155 and zero defenses of either belt wouldn't mean much at all.

Conor beat the champ. Were Conor to retire without losing, he would be considered the champ. Rightfullyn so, I might add.

Obviously at some point in time, Conor would be forgotten. Probably not in our lifetime, though.

 

[PlatinumAmerican]

I don't even care I'm more interested in the matchup - I think tony wins this fight but khabib becomes champion one day soon regardless

 

[tommi462]

Conor beat the champ. Were Conor to retire without losing, he would be considered the champ..

Yes, by some. Not by all. Like I already said. The UFC certainly won't. His haters certainly won't. Some others won't. His nuthuggers probably will, and maybe some others.

No one has beaten GSP since he retired from WW. No one beat him since he took the MW belt. I don't think many still consider him the champ at either division. And he was much more established at WW than Conor will ever be at any division.

 

[chinarice]

Conor beat the champ. Were Conor to retire without losing, he would be considered the champ. Rightfullyn so, I might add.

Obviously at some point in time, Conor would be forgotten. Probably not in our lifetime, though.

GSP confirmed WW and MW champ for eternity.

 

[PlayswellwithLawnDarts]

Winner of Khabib vs Tony is the real lightweight champ, you can’t believe those White lies

 

[Not A Real Fan]

Tony is actually willing to defend, therefore, he is the real champ.

Tony getting no respect. What does a guy have to do?

He's the only one out of the three thats been consistent and ready to fight..

imo Tony is the true LW champ..

Winner of Khabib vs Tony is the real lightweight champ, you can’t believe those White lies

I agree that Tony is the real champ.

I'm just saying that from a promotional standpoint, the UFC does not want Khabib to be the interim champ if he wins or Tony to be the real champ if he wins. This is why we do not know what title is on the line.

If Khabib wins, the UFC will instantly consider him the real champ but will delay the announcement for a few weeks. The UFC will want Kahbib to headline the Russia card as the real champ

If Tony wins, he will still be the interim champ. The UFC will want him to unify the title with Conor.

 

[notori0us1]

Tony has to be one of the most fucked over fighters in the UFC.

 

[Loiosh]

So, Conor is the champ. That's the way it is.

Strip Conor, and he's still the champ.

Unless Conor loses, he's the champ.

No, sorry.

Strip his title, he's no longer the champion.

He had plenty of time to defend if he wanted to stay champion.