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19th June 2017
04:15pm BST

"UFC maintains that any champion is expected to accept fights against the top contenders in their respective weight classes in order to maintain the integrity of the sport."Firstly, this 'failing to accept fights against top contenders in your weight class' rule doesn't apply to champions like Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping.
When McGregor held the featherweight title he was allowed to hold up the division by having not one, but two welterweight bouts against Nate Diaz after his lightweight title fight fell through. When he successfully exacted revenge upon the Stockton native, he was granted his 155 lb title shot, only to be stripped of the featherweight strap after UFC 205.
Rather than take on any of the top middleweight contenders after knocking out Luke Rockhold, Bisping was given the opportunity to seek retribution against a retiring Dan Henderson before being booked against returning welterweight great Georges St-Pierre for his next defence.
Plus, there's the whole mess that's currently happening in the flyweight division right now.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/842092253942321153
While the UFC merely allowed "the Notorious" and "the Count" to break that unwritten rule to pursue money fights, they are actively trying to convince their flyweight champion to not adhere to it.
Demetrious Johnson has refused to immediately agree to a title defence against former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, who has never fought in the UFC's flyweight division before.
Johnson was under the impression that he was fighting Ray Borg next, an actual ranked 125 lber. He claims that he wanted certain guarantees before accepting a risky bout with Dillashaw while he's on the cusp of breaking Anderson Silva's consecutive defence record.
The back-and-forth between Mighty Mouse and Dana White through the media has only been getting uglier since this dispute started.Explore more on these topics: