McGregor aiming for three world titles after Diaz fight
Conor McGregor wants to make history once he's done with Nate Diaz.
McGregor, who'll look to avenge his March loss to Diaz next Saturday at UFC 202, told the press on Friday he wants to get back to fighting for championships once he's done so.
"I still envision two or possibly three belts on my shoulder," McGregor said, according to the UFC's Matt Parrino.
"The Notorious" already holds the featherweight strap, and while interim division champ Jose Aldo expects to fight him in a unification bout next, McGregor isn't making any promises.
"I read that, you know. We'll see. There's a lot to still happen yet," McGregor said, according to Bloody Elbow's Lewis McKeever. "We're gonna go in here, face this man (Nate Diaz), do what I know I can do - put him away, and then we'll talk. But we'll see."
If he does move back down, McGregor doesn't quite have his sights set on Aldo, who he knocked out in 13 seconds to win the belt. He was much more disparaging of Frankie Edgar, who lost a decision to Aldo for the interim title at UFC 200.
"If Frankie (Edgar) had of won that last fight after all the sh*t he was talking and his team was talking - it would have been set in stone. I’m going back to shut that man up, but he got slapped around in that fight. He couldn’t do nothing against (Jose Aldo) who I KO’d in one shot."
McGregor's chance at another title fell through before UFC 196, where he was scheduled to fight then-champion Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight strap. Diaz stepped in on short notice after dos Anjos bowed out due to injury, submitting McGregor in the second round of their welterweight bout.
The Irishman had some choice words for dos Anjos, claiming the Brazilian's chin would not have withstood his punches the way Diaz's did.
"If Dos Anjos hadn’t of p*ssied out of that last fight - the shots I hit Nate with in the first eight or nine minutes of that contest would have KO’d Dos Anjos. I’d be sitting here with a belt here and a belt there."
Three belts would put McGregor in select company, as only seven fighters have won multiple titles in UFC history, two of which have held belts in multiple weight classes: Randy Couture and BJ Penn.
McGregor's ambitions don't mean he's looking past Diaz. He's undergone the most rigorous training camp of his career in preparation for the rematch, and he's paid handsomely for it. His opponent, who took their first fight shortly after vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, will benefit from a full camp himself.
“I’m interested to see what the boy has done with a full camp. He was talking all this, ‘I didn’t have a full camp and that’s the reason I got my ass whooped for most of the fight until you couldn’t whoop my ass no more.’
“Let’s see what he has and let’s see what this full camp has done. I believe I’m the better fighter by a long stretch. I am more skilled, I am faster, and smarter. He is tough, durable, and big. That’s it. He spoke a big game and has had a long camp. Let’s see."