CONOR McGREGOR HAS overcome every opponent the UFC has put in front of him but some doubters maintain that the Irish star still hasn’t beaten anyone noteworthy.
Despite his defeat of former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes in July, UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis says McGregor has yet to prove himself.
McGregor, who takes on reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo on 12 December, was awarded the interim 145lbs title following his second-round TKO stoppage of Mendes.
The 27-year-old Dubliner eventually plans to move up to the lightweight division and a meeting with Pettis in the 155lbs weight class has often been mooted.
Stylistically, a bout between Pettis and McGregor would make for a spectacular match-up, but the Wisconsin native — who was the UFC’s lightweight champion until his shock loss to Rafael dos Anjos in March — has claimed that ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t done enough to register on his radar just yet.
Pettis, who has fought just twice in the last two years, withdrew from a scheduled bout with Jose Aldo in 2013 due to a knee injury. His next assignment is a clash with Eddie Alvarez in Boston on 17 January.
“Conor’s talking and doing his thing,” Pettis said at a UFC Fan Club Q&A event in Houston, when asked about the prospect of facing McGregor.
“But he hasn’t beat no one yet. Aldo, he’s beat everybody but he’s at 145 [pounds]. Aldo would be a good challenge for me. With Conor, he hasn’t beat anybody yet so it’s hard to tell. If he beats Aldo, then he’s legit.”
H/T: MMAFighting.com
Who?
Lisa Kearney.