Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight Conor McGregor would like his next fight to take place in the lightweight division.

Despite making his UFC debut in sensational fashion last Saturday (April 6, 2013) at UFC on FUEL TV 9 against Marcus Brimage at 145 pounds, "Notorious" wants to move up a weight class for his next fight, which has already been confirmed to take place at UFC on FOX Sports 1 this August.

The Irishman stated on Monday's (April 8, 2013) episode of "The MMA Hour" that he would like to fight in both weight classes in the UFC; however, the higher-ups at the organization don't seem all that open to McGregor's request.

FUEL TV correspondent Ariel Helwani reported the news on UFC Tonight:

"Conor told me yesterday that he's down with fighting at UFC on FOX Sports 1 on August 17. Dana White wants him to fight in Boston. He did say if he had his druthers, he'd want that fight to happen at 155 pounds, not 145, which is what he fought at on Saturday. This is the first time that he'll be leaving Europe to go fight, and considering the travel and everything that goes on with that, he'd like his first fight in North America to be at 155. The UFC has told him they want him to fight at 145 so we'll see what happens with that."

McGregor was a two-division champion under the Cage Warriors banner prior to signing with the UFC earlier this year; however, the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization isn't as flexible about fighters moving up and down weight classes as a smaller promotion.

Could that interfere with his plans to "take over?"

The 24-year-old is ultimately looking out for his best interests with the request, as he is clearly concerned the travel and physical stress of fighting overseas for the first time could affect his performance and avoiding the additional 10-pound weight cut may negate that.

Chances are McGregor will end up competing at featherweight, unless he decides to make the jump up to lightweight a permanent one.