As long as the weight divisions in the UFC have existed, the fighters have expressed their desires to move between the weight classes. But the trend has been more common in the case of the champions. After defending their championship titles 3-4 times, they have often wanted to move to the higher-weight class. Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira, and even Jon Jones have moved to the divisions above them. And Islam Makhachev has been talking about it for months now. But what’s the philosophy of making such decisions?

That’s what a reporter asked Dana White during the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference. He pointed out that when fighters like Pereira and Dricus Du Plessis express their desire to move to a different weight class, White wants them to focus on their own division. But previously, such cases were often engulfed in enthusiasm. So what has changed in the current scenario? 

White simply wanted the fighters to clear out their divisions before asking to jump to the heavier division. And that was the only condition. He said, “Unless you’ve really wiped out a division and, you know, like Jon Jones, who was in lightweight forever and then moved up to heavyweight. Ilia? I get it. It makes sense, you know, when, like I said, ‘who he’s beat and how he beaten, and now he’s tired of making weight and wants to move up.’

Totally makes sense. Weili Zhang, just asked me. She’s accomplished just about everything you can accomplish in her weight division. And I don’t have a problem with it, you know. But the philosophy hasn’t changed. It’s just on a case-by-case basis.” 

Becoming the double champion in the UFC is a dream that every single fighter aspires to achieve. That’s something that Islam Makhachev has repeatedly talked about in his interviews. But is attaining the champ-champ title impossible now? Is that what White meant? According to Diego Lopes, it apparently is. 

Diego Lopes confirms no one can achieve Conor McGregor’s feat anymore as per Dana White’s decision

When Ilia Topuria moved to the lightweight division, he had to leave his featherweight championship title behind him. This meant that he could not compete in the lightweight realm while ruling the featherweight kingdom. Talking to ESPN, the Brazilian mixed martial artist said, “They were very clear to us that they said that they are no longer giving chance to jump from one weight class to another. If you want to move up, you have to vacate your title. That’s what UFC has said to all champions who are planning to move up a weight class.” 

Of course, Conor McGregor was the first UFC fighter to hold two separate belts simultaneously, becoming a champ-champ. But now, no fighter can attain that status anymore. Lopes continued, “They will no longer have the status of double champion simultaneously.” Well, the UFC CEO claimed that if a fighter thinks that he can defend 2 belts simultaneously, he’d have no problem with it. But whether the current champions will be able to do that, remains a mystery.

Nevertheless, with super fights like Dricus Du Plessis vs. Alex Pereira, or Makhachev vs. Topuria, the UFC champions do have a chance to claim the double champion status. And just like the UFC head honcho previously said, if they are confident enough and have done everything they can in their divisions, we might get to see a double champion holding 2 belts at the same time. Wouldn’t that be exciting to watch?

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What are your thoughts on the UFC’s new rules for the champ-champ status? Do you think it’ll create a hurdle in the fighters’ legacy? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.