Conor McGregor is pushing back on his absence from all-time featherweight debates as he heads into a rematch with Max Holloway in the UFC 329 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
McGregor began his UFC run at featherweight, where he holds divisional wins over Holloway and Dustin Poirier, stopped Chad Mendes for the interim title, and knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds in December 2015 to become undisputed UFC featherweight champion. He never defended the belt and was later stripped due to inactivity.
"The greatest featherweight of all time, this ranking system of the greatest featherweights that I've beaten these men and hadn't been in the list," McGregor said, questioning why his name is often left out. "How have I beaten these men easily and handily and yet be kept from the list?"
McGregor acknowledged some of the reasoning but made clear he rejects the conclusion. "That's a fair shout for sure, and I understand the whys of it, but you cannot get caught in all of this," he said, before adding: "What is the skill? Who is the best? Who is the greatest? Who was the best? And it is me. The results show this. It's not like the fights weren't there. It was just elsewhere."
Referencing his move through multiple divisions, McGregor said, "There were divisional changes, which originally was not me. It was a fighter pulling out or things of that nature that kind of led to it. So, I understand it. However, I don't agree with it. I am the greatest featherweight since Bruce Lee, and on Saturday night I will show it."
