Dillon Danis believes Conor McGregor is the UFC’s lineal featherweight champion.
In combat sports where champions are decided by a challenge, the lineal championship of a weight class is a world championship title held initially by an undisputed champion and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally called "the man who beat the man"
McGregor won the interim featherweight belt against Chad Mendes back at UFC 189. Mendes stepped in on short notice and had success early using his wrestling. But, the Irishman rallied back to score a second-round TKO win.
Following the win, he would fight for the undisputed title at UFC 194 where he knocked out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds. It was a shocking finish as many thought the Brazilain would win given he hadn’t lost in 18 fights that stretched over nine years.
Although McGregor won the title, he would never go on to defend the belt as he had his back-to-back fights with Nate Diaz. Following that, he would TKO Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title, and then have his legendary boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. He has also never fought back at featherweight since then.
“People forget that @TheNotoriousMMA is the lineal featherweight UFC world champion,” Danis tweeted.
Conor McGregor, of course, is coming off a win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. There, he got back into the win column after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Who he will fight next is unknown. He may wait for the winner of Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson or perhaps could fight someone like Justin Gaethje.
Dillon Danis, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since Bellator 222 in June of 2019. He currently does not have a fight scheduled but is 2-0 as a pro with two submission wins.
(Report by Cole Shelton/ Monica L. Krause)
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