Owen Roddy Says Conor McGregor Is ‘Training, Motivated And Wants To Fight’
UFC President Dana White has been very open about the fact that the UFC want to make Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov and according to the Irishman’s striking coach Owen Roddy, he believes it’s the fight that makes the most amount of sense.
After cornering both Leah McCourt and Philip Mulpeter to victory at Cage Warriors 94 in Antwerp, Belgium this weekend, Roddy spoke backstage to Jim Edwards about the future of the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion. According to the SBG Charlestown man, McGregor is chomping at the bit to get back into the Octagon.
“I can’t confirm anything,” Roddy said. “It would be great to get Conor back. He’s training hard, he’s always training. He’s motivated and he wants to fight. It’s just that he needs to get a few things sorted out, then he can sit down and negotiate a good deal for his next fight.
“I think it will be another big spectacle — they always are. I’m excited, just like everybody else.”
Despite the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Nate Diaz and Tyron Woodley all recently linked to fights with McGregor, Roddy believes that Nurmagomedov is at the front of the line to be his next opponent. McGregor has always been one to try make the biggest fights possible and Roddy believes the Russian fits the mould.
“I don’t know, but I think he’s at the forefront,” Roddy said. “I always say, Conor wants the biggest fights he can possible have so I think at the moment, Khabib seems to be that guy.”
Nurmagomedov’s dominant grappling and McGregor’s striking prowess presents an interesting styles matchup. Many experts believe that the Russian’s wrestling based attack will be enough to overcome the Irishman should they meet, but Roddy thinks McGregor has more than enough to handle what Nurmagomedov brings to the table.
“I think for one, the strikers always have an advantage because you start standing and you start at range,” Roddy said. “The grappler always has to get around that and find his way into the clinch. It’s very hard to do that without taking a big shot off Conor. It’s just about setting traps and putting his opponent where they are vulnerable.
“He’s got phenomenal take down defence and we’ve seen that in other fights like [against] Alvarez and Diaz. He’s no slouch there and he’s got a fantastic wrestling coach in Sergey Pikulskiy so we’re more than prepared to fight anybody.”
With that said, no fight between McGregor and Nurmagomedov can be set until the Irishman has dealt with his court case following the incident that took place in Brooklyn, New York earlier this year. The delay in putting the fight together is undoubtedly frustrating some fans, but Roddy believes that the delay is only further building anticipation.
“I’m sure it’s just down to negotiations, but yeah, I think it is building,” Roddy said. “This started similarly with the Mayweather fight; there was talk, there was a bit of back and forth and a bit of drama.
“Once the crowd and the fans get behind it, they ultimately make the fight. It’s brewing up nicely.”
Watch the full interview here:
More from Roddy regarding McCourt, Jack McGann and Ryan Curtis below:
