Conor McGregor’s striking coach Owen Roddy says a bout against Donald Cerrone would be a “nice fight” and that everyone would enjoy the buildup to it.
Conor McGregor’s striking coach would like to see the former UFC lightweight champion fight Donald Cerrone in his next fight.
McGregor was given a six-month suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) Monday for his involvement in the infamous brawl that followed his fourth-round submission loss to current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov last October. “The Notorious” will be eligible to return to the cage April 6.
With a potential McGregor return looming, his coach Owen Roddy hopes his next opponent is “Cowboy,” who stopped up-and-comer Alex Hernandez via TKO earlier this month at UFC Brooklyn.
“It’s a fan favorite fight,” Roddy told MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast. “Cerrone comes out and he looks to swing and Conor’s going to be looking to knock him out. The banter beforehand, I don’t see it being as [turbulent] — I think it will be funny. Both guys will go back and forth and that will be exciting for fans. I think it would be a very exciting fight.”
There are many options for McGregor, including rematches against Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, or featherweight champion Max Holloway, but the one that stands out the most for Roddy is Cerrone.
After Cerrone’s win over Hernandez, McGregor and Cerrone appeared to verbally agree to a fight. Cerrone called out the Irish superstar after his second straight victory, and McGregor responded with interest.
Holloway recently took an indirect dig at McGregor on social media. He visited Jameson Whiskey’s distillery in Dublin, Ireland earlier this week, and called Jameson “the number one Irish whiskey in the world.” McGregor, of course, launched his own whiskey line — Proper Twelve — late last year.
Regardless, Roddy still prefers the Cerrone fight, because both fighters have shown interest.
“[Holloway is] putting the digs in,” Roddy said. “I saw the post of him the other day in the Jameson [Distillery], but I don’t know. I think the Cerrone one, because [McGregor and Cerrone] both engaged directly — Conor said he’d do it and then Cerrone said he’d do it. I think that might be in the pipeline.
“I can’t confirm that 100 percent obviously, but I think the fans would love it. It’s a great fight that people want to see. They can see the two of them in there, standing up and having a bang.
“We’d enjoy the camp, we’d enjoy the build up. Everyone would enjoy the buildup. It would be a nice fight.”