Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh says he is disappointed by the "short-sighted" decision of the UFC to strip the Dubliner of his featherweight title
The Dubliner’s brief reign as two-division world champion came to an end at the weekend when the governing body confirmed that McGregor, who never defended the title he won from Jose Aldo, has vacated the belt - with Aldo now elevated to undisputed champion.
The Brazilian beat Frankie Edgar for the interim title at UFC 200 in July after McGregor was removed from the event for refusing to attend a press conference.
McGregor has not spoken publicly since the UFC announcement, but his coach told Cork's Red FM that the handling of the decision has left a lot to be desired.
“For me personally, I'm very disappointed with how they went about doing it. It's a very messy set of circumstances that led to it," he told radio listeners.
"They lost a main event and then they haphazardly threw together a new main event and they felt they had to make it for a title in order to sell.
"They brought in another interim title that Jose Aldo already had and bumped Jose Aldo up to the current undisputed champion.”
McGregor knocked Aldo out in 13 seconds at UFC 194 last December to claim his first title in the organisation and Kavanagh thinks the decision to strip him has been made in haste.
WOW! @TheNotoriousMMA KOs @josealdojunior in 13 seconds. 🇮🇪👊 #AndNew #UFC194 https://t.co/53rqGJ2OhB
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) December 13, 2015
"It just seems ridiculous to me,” he said. “It's only been 11 months since Conor McGregor won that title and there have been many examples of fighters waiting 15-18 months before defending it.
"He's 11 months and they strip him of it. I thought it was very short-sighted of the UFC in how they went about doing it."
Following the victory over Aldo, McGregor moved up two weights to fight Nate Diaz twice, before dropping back to lightweight to take Eddie Alvarez's belt earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Aldo has again called for a rematch with McGregor, saying the Irishman was a "coward" and not a true champion.
“I knew that I would win a rematch and would become champion again," Aldo told UFC.com.
"It’s not my fault that he’s a coward. He was never the champion. I don’t see myself losing to anyone in my weight class or any other one.”
“It’s logical that I give a lot of thought to that rematch, and it’s a certainty that it will happen,” he said. “But I want to defend my (featherweight) belt first. Then I can start preparing to face McGregor (at lightweight).”
