Conor McGregor’s striking coach, Owen Roddy, has backed a potential fight for the Irishman against former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in New York.
MMA was finally legalised in the state of New York this week and a potential UFC event later this year at the iconic Madison Square Garden has been mooted, per Fox Sports’ Jonathan Bradley.
Roddy is eager to see his man go up against Edgar and believes a fight between the pair would be a great way to debut the UFC in New York, while he also suggested they could either fight for McGregor’s featherweight title or at lightweight, per Sky Sports’ James Dielhenn:
That would be amazing, realistically that would be huge for the first New York show. Madison Square Garden would be fantastic.
[McGregor and Edgar could fight] at featherweight or even at lightweight—Frankie spends a lot of time there, and he was the lightweight champion. But if Conor is on the card, it would be huge anywhere.
Edgar recently stressed once again that a clash against McGregor is his priority, per ESPN 97.3 (via MMA Mania’s Brad Popkin): “I’m not looking to fight [Jose] Aldo yet, I want to fight McGregor for that 145-pound title, but I’d love a chance to get some redemption at Aldo as well.”
As noted by Dielhenn, New Jersey-born Edgar has long been seen as “McGregor’s most challenging test.”
The 27-year-old Dubliner was taken down a notch last time out when he was defeated by Nate Diaz in their welterweight clash, but he remains the most feared featherweight after taking the title from long-term champion Aldo in destructive fashion last December, per BT Sport:
A rematch for the Notorious against Diaz has been mooted for the UFC 200 event in Las Vegas on July 9, per MailOnline’s Martin Domin.
It would certainly be a huge draw given how the first fight went, but many fans are eager to see McGregor drop back down to featherweight where he is at his best.
MMA writer Chamatkar Sandhu echoed the thoughts of many UFC fans with regards to McGregor’s next opponent:
Edgar, 34, won the UFC lightweight title back in 2010, and dropped down to featherweight in 2013 after losing his crown to Benson Henderson.
He would pose a major threat to McGregor at either 145 or 155 pounds, and if they met in New York they would undoubtedly draw a raucous crowd.
Not only would it effectively be a home match for Edgar given his New Jersey heritage, the city is not short of Irish people.
Furthermore, McGregor has previously said he would like to fight on the east coast as it would make for an easier trip for his home fans, per Bradley.
The option is certainly there for McGregor to fight Edgar in a clash fans have been calling for, and, with Roddy seemingly on board, it could get made in 2016.
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