Win or Lose, UFC Should Move Conor McGregor Up to Lightweight After UFC 194

"

I'd change your bum life. You fight me, it's a celebration. You ring back home, you ring your wife, 'Baby we done it, we're rich, baby. Conor McGregor made us rich! Break out the red panties! We're rich, baby!'

"

That's McGregor for you. Just making new friends on the playground. 

That snippet is classic, dare it be said typical, Conor. Only there's something about this snippet (provided in September) that is anything but typical. 

He's talking to a lightweight. In some ways, the lightweight: UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos. McGregor's a featherweight.

Dos Anjos took the bait like it was dipped in chocolate, snapping back that a fight with McGregor would be "easy money." No, Rafael. To McGregor, you are the easy money.

It's not the first time McGregor has made noises about moving up by a weight class (or more). He's making plenty more in the run-up to UFC 194, where he meets Jose Aldo for the undisputed featherweight title. Granted, McGregor makes noise about a lot of things. But this time, sincerity glints below the surface.

Plenty of men have held belts. But only two (Dan Henderson and B.J. Penn) have held belts in two different weight classes in the sport's major league. These men carry the same august appeal for the MMA community as two-sport stars do in the mainstream. You don't think McGregor would like to be considered the Bo Jackson of MMA?

That's why the UFC should drop the leash and let him try, no matter what happens at UFC 194.

The 27-year-old Irishman is 18-2, including a perfect 6-0 in the UFC featherweight division. According to the official UFC rankings, half of those wins came over ranked opponents (Chad Mendes, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, who is now fighting and ranked at lightweight). To put it mildly, he has established himself in this division.

Are there fights left for him at featherweight? Clearly. There are clearly fights left for him at featherweight. No fool would argue otherwise. Frankie Edgar would be a blockbuster. Ricardo Lamas would be a test. Cub Swanson would be a slobber-knocking grudge match. A rematch with Holloway might be tempting.

The list goes on. There are all sorts of combinations to make, depending on what happens at UFC 194.

But when you consider the possibilities at lightweight, it's like stepping into a mystical wonderland of blood sport. 

How about a rematch with Poirier at 155 pounds? What kind of frenzy would a bout with Donald Cerrone create? Or Anthony Pettis? How about Eddie Alvarez or Edson Barboza? Of, if you don't want to start that high on the totem pole, perhaps Nate Diaz or Evan Dunham or Ross Pearson? After everything McGregor has said and done (and said), are you really feeling like you want to doubt him?

Oh, and what about that dude Joe Duffy? You know, the last guy to beat McGregor? Duffy just happens to be in the UFC lightweight division right now. Perhaps that would move a few units.

And of course there is Dos Anjos, with whom McGregor has already oh-so-conveniently picked the aforementioned scrap.

Don't forget either that there is precedent here. McGregor simultaneously held the lightweight and featherweight belts for Europe's respected Cage Warriors promotion. No, that's not the same as holding them in the UFC, but it shows he can do it.

It also shows this is no flight of fancy. The day he signed with the UFC, McGregor set his sights on not two but three divisional belts. This is a guy who keeps his weight and conditioning on point at all times, who has said he walks around at 165 pounds, who has said he can make welterweight on a day's notice and lightweight within a week. 

And if it doesn't pan out, if it turns out he's not big or strong enough, hey, move back to 145. No harm, no foul, no indelible tarnish. If he leaves after Saturday, he'll leave either as the undisputed champion or as the man who lost only to the best fighter on planet Earth right now in Aldo. He'll always have a home at 145.

But why now, precisely? Because McGregor is still young. Moving weight classes is easier when you're younger and your body is a more willing partner. The window to effectively experiment in this fashion is far shorter than the window of a full career. Do it while he can and while the sports world is still focused on him.

Bottom line: McGregor is here to make a mark. Belts make a mark. You know what makes an even bigger mark? Becoming only the third person to accomplish something or, at the very least, joining a short list of people to attempt that something.

It's the kind of permanent impression McGregor seems hell-bent on making. If you're the UFC, why don't you just let him? While we're young. 

Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.