"The winner of this fight will be champion," said Dana White at tonight's press conference for the upcoming UFC 223.
The lightweight encounter between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov is the main event for the April event in Brooklyn and the UFC president revealed tonight that the winner would be deemed the champion of the division.
Of course, Conor McGregor currently holds the belt, however, the Dubliner has not fought since November 2016 when he claimed the title by beating Eddie Alvarez.
"The winner of this fight will be champion." - @DanaWhite on the #UFC223 main event pic.twitter.com/zkcfGMwHk0
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 19, 2018
White recently told Fox Sports that the organisation would likely strip McGregor of his title if he refused to fight again soon.
"Conor has said that he's thinking about coming back in September. If he comes back in September that's almost two years - that can't happen. It's not fair to everybody else," White said.
Dana White flat out refuses to say Conor McGregor has been stripped but does say the 223 main event is for the undisputed title. Asked if he has been stripped or not, White says, next question.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 19, 2018
"I love Conor, respect Conor, love everything he's done for the company, everybody knows that, I say it all the time (but) the belt would have to move on," he explained.
Lightweight belt on the line!!@TonyFergusonXT vs. @TeamKhabib square off for #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/b83pYNTnHk
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 19, 2018
