Although he’s the UFC featherweight champion, Conor McGregor is 1-1 as a welterweight.
‘The Notorious’ did tease at a potential bout with then-welterweight champion Robbie Lawler prior to UFC 196, but ended up fighting Nate Diaz instead.
Diaz, a lightweight fighter who has had mixed success at 170, choked out McGregor in the first fight but lost a majority decision to the Irishman at UFC 202.
McGregor will now challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in New York and is looking to hold one belt on each shoulder, albeit temporarily.
Current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who captured the belt after knocking out ‘Ruthless’ in the first round at UFC 201, will also compete on the same card and says McGregor should abandon any notion of holding three world titles.
“Well first off I think Conor is a smart individual and he knows that fighting me is not going to be good for his health,” ‘T-Wood’ told Chris Taylor of BJPenn.com. “I just do not really see him wanting that fight. I see him relinquishing his 145-pound belt and then maybe defending his title a few times at lightweight. Maybe he does a super-fight here or there. There has been talks of him fighting Floyd Mayweather in boxing.”
Woodley, 34, packs tremendous power and says he would have a massive size advantage over McGregor. The American Top Team product believes McGregor is aware of this and says he knows it wouldn’t be good for his brand.
“So he is a smart business guy and so I do not think he is going to want to come up and fight a guy who is going to outsize him,” Woodley continued. “Being 170 and fighting 170 is two different things. I walk around at 200. Giving up that 30-pounds. Plus he is not going to have a boxing advantage. He is definitely not going to have a wrestling advantage. He is definitely not going to have a strength advantage. And it would be a lopsided display of power.”
UFC 205, which features Alvarez vs. McGregor in the main event and Woodley vs. Thompson in the co-main, takes place on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
