MANILA, Philippines – UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will try to become the first fighter in the MMA outfit’s history to hold two titles at the same time when he challenges lightweight titlist Rafael dos Anjos in UFC 197 on March 5.
Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole said the deal was finalized on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time), confirming an earlier article by Bleacher Report that first reported the development.
McGregor shot into superstardom following his 13-second knockout of longtime titleholder Jose Aldo last December 12 to annex the UFC featherweight belt.
UFC president Dana White believes McGregor has a shot at achieving the milestone of holding two belts at the same time, something no other fighter in UFC history has done.
"This kid does everything he says he's going to do. He told me a long time ago, 'I was a two-division champion [in Cage Warriors] and I'm going to be a two-division champion in the UFC.' Well, he's got one of them and he's going after the second,” White said in Iole’s report.
McGregor thought faces a tough challenge in Dos Anjos, who is on a five-fight winning streak capped by a TKO win over Donald Cerrone just 66 seconds into the first round of their bout last December 19.