Morning Report: Conor McGregor’s coach discusses potential clash with Donald Cerrone

Friday, November 15, 2019 - 16:00

UFC 205 Open Workout Photos

Owen Roddy and Conor McGregor | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Conor McGregor has not competed since last October when he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Since then, McGregor has had a number of troubling personal issues and there have also been rumors swirling of a falling out with his coaches at Straight Blast Gym Ireland. But though some former fighters of SBG Ireland have recently made public their issues with the gym, it appears everything is full systems go for SBG Ireland’s most “Notorious” fighter.

Speaking recently with MMAJunkie, McGregor’s striking coach Owen Roddy confirmed that he and John Kavanagh would for sure be in the corner for McGregor’s next fight, which they hope will be soon.

“Yup, yup, yup – yeah definitely, yeah,” Roddy said...

“I know he’s working very hard. There’s no official date set yet, but Conor’s been training very hard, as you can see. He’s in good nick. If you’re looking at any of the pictures, he’s in phenomenal shape, he’s ready to go. I’m sure everybody’s excited to see him back.”

But when that will happen is still a matter of speculation. McGregor himself announced he would be competing on Jan. 18 at UFC 246 though that is far from official. As for who he’ll be facing, the rumors all seem to agree that Donald Cerrone is the next man up for a red panty night, and if those rumors are true, Roddy says they’d love that.

“If it is ‘Cowboy,’ it would be an exciting fight, yeah,” Roddy said. “I said this a couple of months ago: ‘Cowboy’ and Conor is a great fight for the fans. Two guys that are exciting strikers – although ‘Cowboy’ is phenomenal on the ground, as well, but I think if it was a fight between them, it would be a striking battle, and I think it would be one for the fans, so if it is that, it’ll be an exciting one.”

Should everything come to pass as planned, it will end up being a 15-month layoff for McGregor between fights. The extended layoff seems to be at least partially due to McGregor angling for an immediate rematch with the lightweight champion. McGregor has said he thinks he wasn’t aggressive enough in their first fight, as well as chalking his performance up to a foot injury leading into the bout, and believes fans didn’t get to see the best version of himself. Roddy agrees.

“Potentially, yeah, it was a tricky fight, and take nothing away from Khabib, he came in with a great gameplan,” Roddy said. “He got off, and he executed. But I just don’t think Conor was anywhere near the best of his ability. He wasn’t as good as he can be, and Conor on a night, at 100 percent, can beat anybody in the world.”

Should McGregor indeed fight Cerrone, he may in fact get a chance to prove it. The presumption is that Nurmagomedov will defend his lightweight title against Tony Ferguson in March. After that, the division is somewhat open and a win over Cerrone could well position McGregor for another title shot. But for Roddy, that’s all down the line. For now, he just wants to see his most famous charge get back into the cage.

“I just want to see Conor back in,” Roddy said. “I think everybody just wants to see Conor back in the UFC, bring back that spectacle that is his fights. Nobody does it like Conor, and for me, I just want to see him back in there. Whatever happens after that, who knows?”

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ariane Lipski (11-5) vs. Isabella da Padua (5-1); UFC Sao Paulo, Nov. 16.

Lorenz Larkin (21-7) vs. Keita Nakamura (35-10-2); Bellator Japan, Dec. 29.

Ilara Joanne (9-4) vs. Kana Watanabe (8-0-1); Bellator Japan, Dec. 29.

Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12); Bellator Japan, Dec. 29.

Patrick Mix (12-0) vs. Yuki Motoya (23-7); Rizin 20, Dec. 31.

Justine Kish (6-2) vs. Lucie Pudilova (8-5); UFC Raleigh, Jan. 25.

Bevon Lewis (6-2) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-2); UFC Raleigh, Jan. 25.

Jamahal Hill (5-0) vs. Darko Stosic (13-3); UFC Raleigh, Jan. 25.

Montel Jackson (8-1) vs. Felipe Colares (8-1); UFC Raleigh, Jan. 25.

Herbert Burns (9-2) vs. Nate Landwehr (12-2); UFC Raleigh, Jan. 25.

Aaron Pico (4-3) vs. Daniel Carey (7-3); Bellator 238, Jan. 25.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading, enjoy the fights, and see y’all on Monday.

EXIT POLL

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Source: 
https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/11/15/20965595/morning-report-conor-mcgregors-coach-discusses-potential-class-with-donald-cerrone