Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez was the last time a UFC lightweight champion lost his belt inside the octagon

Here's a neat piece of MMA trivia – the last UFC lightweight champion to lose his belt inside the octagon was Eddie Alvarez against Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in November 2016.

The stat was initially brought to the public eye by Twitter user @AndyHickeyMMA.

Due to the Irishman's inactivity in the octagon after winning the title, the UFC crowned Khabib Nurmagomedov champion after he beat Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in 2018.

'The Eagle' would then go on to defend the title three times before he eventually retired from the sport in 2020, rendering the championship vacant.

Charles Oliveira captured the vacant title by defeating former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May 2021.

A year later, 'do Bronx' was stripped of the title when he weighed in half a pound over the lightweight championship limit for his title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. Although he triumphed over the American, Oliveira was ultimately ineligible to win the title due to the weight miss.

That brings us to the latest 155-pound title fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov's protege and friend Islam Makhachev finally claimed the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280 by defeating Oliveira via second-round submission.

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Conor McGregor predicts UFC titles and money in his future

In a cryptic tweet yesterday, Conor McGregor suggested that he sees UFC championships and money in his future:

"I predict the future it holds gold and doh"

'Notorious' has been on the sidelines for over a year now owing to a leg break during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

According to UFC president Dana White, Conor McGregor will need to undergo six months of mandatory USADA testing before making his octagon return. This means that the earliest fans can hope to see the Irishman in the cage would be April 2023.

Watch Dana White talk about McGregor's return to the UFC below:

In a tweet earlier this month, 'Notorious' boldly proclaimed that he would be fighting multiple times in the coming year, once he is done filming for his Hollywood debut 'Road House':

"I’m feeling crazy confident. Calm. Disattached from emotion. Aware of what I must do and making it happen. Visualizing. I see it all. Clear. This movie wraps, I’m back. I’ll have multiple fights completed by the time this movie even releases."