Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, has revealed the challenges the new UFC featherweight champion is set to face in 2016, with a lightweight title shot and a subsequent defence of his featherweight belt against Frankie Edgar top of the agenda.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t Martin Domin of the MailOnline), Kavanagh outlined McGregor’s potential schedule for 2016 in the wake of his devastating win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 and it seems the fighting Irishman’s next outing will be at 155 pounds:
I do think the next one will be lightweight for the title. Maybe that’s going to be around April. March, April, something like that.
Maybe that and then July, UFC 200. Maybe he’ll defend the featherweight belt against Frankie on that card. He’s never going to wait until July. Even if I was to suggest it or encourage it, I know it’s a pointless effort.
McGregor affirmed his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats at UFC 194, as he laid Aldo out in just 13 seconds; prior to that bout, the featherweight legend had not lost in over a decade.
Here’s a reminder of how the fight went, with the Irishman leaving his opponent flat out after a brutal left hook, per BT Sport:
McGregor has previously suggested he would move up to lightweight after beating Aldo. As reported by Domin, it seems as though the Irishman has no desire to relinquish his featherweight strap either, as he seeks to stay active in early 2016.
McGregor looked gaunt on the scales at Friday’s weigh-in after the cut. Coupled with his lightweight ambitions and Dana White’s doubts the Irishman would fight at featherweight again, per ESPN (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting), sceptism has been cast over a possible bout with Edgar.
However, Kavanagh allayed fears McGregor may not be able to make the 145 limit again, jokingly claiming to Helwani he could even drop down to bantamweight if he wished, per Claire Healy and Robert Hynes of the Irish Mirror:
He’s a big, big featherweight and it takes incredible discipline. It’s never easy but this was as easy as you could make it.
I know in the lead-up, I did say a lot that I didn’t want to see him at 145 lbs again but I half-joked to him when he stood on the scales for the first time with about four or five hours to go, he was under weight!
He was 144.8 lbs which I’ve never seen so I said ‘what about bantamweight. Can we do three weight classes?’ I won’t say what he told me to do!
Should McGregor make the step up to lightweight he’d have his eye on champion Rafael dos Anjos, who is set to defend his title against Donald Cerrone at the weekend.
The Brazilian has built up a lot of momentum in recent bouts, winning his last four in succession, the most recent against Anthony Pettis to win the title for the first time.
It’d be an intriguing tussle, but so would a showdown with Edgar. The 34-year-old has been on a roll as of late, culminating in a hugely impressive knockout win over Chad Mendes at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter.
Despite losing to Aldo himself in 2013, many feel Edgar has the rounded skill set needed to nullify McGregor’s power and reach advantages at featherweight.
It’s clear he fancies a shot at the Irishman too, calling him out in the wake of his momentous triumph against Aldo:
Regardless of which avenue McGregor chooses, history beckons. A win over the lightweight champion would see him become just the third competitor ever to win titles in two weight classes after Randy Couture and BJ Penn, whereas a showdown with Edgar would be hugely lucrative.
It’s a measure of the Irishman’s gravitas the UFC does seem happy to let McGregor have free rein over his next move.
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