CONOR MCGREGOR is eager to have a prolonged run in the UFC's lightweight division, which he hopes will include a trilogy fight with rival Nate Diaz.
The Irishman has only competed twice in the promotion's stacked 155lb division, those outings being his UFC 205 and UFC 229 showdowns with Eddie Alvarez and Khabb Nurmagomedov.
But ahead of his UFC 257 rematch with former lightweight king Dustin Poirier, McGregor has committed his future to the shark tank of a weight class.
He told The MacLife: “I would like to put a stint in at 155 pounds, for sure.
"I came into the UFC as a featherweight and I went through the division.
"I gave it my all in that division and I tore through it like a chainsaw through butter. Interim title, then unified title.
"Then I went up and reached for greater heights, went to the lightweight division, became lightweight champion and became the first dual-weight champion in the company’s history.
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“Then obviously other things presented themselves, the Floyd fight and where it went.
"Then I went to the welterweight division, also.
"I never got a good stint at 155 pounds, a consecutive stint like I’ve done in the featherweight division.
"I would like to do the same here in the lightweight division that I’ve done in the featherweight division – give it a good run and tear through the division.
"There’s many good competitors, good fighters, in there, and I feel levels above them all. So I would like to put that stint in.”
A rubber match with Diaz – who he had back-to-back wars with in 2016 – is high up on McGregor's priorities for his lightweight run.
He said: "I hear Dana talking (about) Nate Diaz coming back down to lightweight. I love that. I’d love to compete against Diaz. We will compete again.
"If that happens at lightweight for a title, that would be something special, also. So there’s many great options that are in the works and let’s see what happens. I am ready.”
McGregor's UFC 257 clash with Poirier will take place a week on Saturday at the Etihad Arena on in Abu Dhabi.
The bout will be the former two-division champion's first outing since his 40-second demolition of Donald Cerrone last January.
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