Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor had not fought in 19 months inside the Octagon. During that time, McGregor turned to highly-anticipated boxing bout, where Floyd Mayweather beats him with 10th round TKO in ‘The Money Fight’ despite that he took home a hefty paycheck.
Irishman, widely known for his fight-related antics, was seen on camera attacking the UFC fighters bus in a Barclays Center ahead of UFC 223 event in April. Fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg suffered injuries by the shattered glass that led to a cancellation of their perspective bouts. Currently, Mcgregor is negotiating a plea deal on the assault case; next court appearance is on July 26.
Well, there is one fight that’s waiting in line for Mcgregor, that against newly crowned lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. A showdown between the pair has been high on many ‘MMA fans’ wish list for so long ever since undefeated Dagestani fighter called out McGregor after his emphatic UFC 205 victory over Michael Johnson. Even UFC president Dana White is keen to book their fight recently saying: That’s the fight to make.
Mcgregor’s striking coach Owen Reddy spoke with MMANytt recently, where he addresses this bout and said things seem to straighten up lately. (Via MMAFighting)
“I can’t confirm anything but it would be great,” Roddy said. “Conor’s training hard, he’s always training. He’s motivated and he wants to fight, it’s just that he gets a few things sorted out and then he sits down and negotiates a good deal for his next fight. I think it will be another big spectacle like they always are. So I’m excited, just like everybody else.”
“I don’t know but I think [Khabib]’s at the forefront. I always say, Conor wants the biggest fights that he can possibly have and I think, at the moment, Khabib seems to be that guy.”
Due to Mcgregor’s inactivity inside the Octagon, UFC stripped Irishman of lightweight title, which he won at UFC 205 in November 2016. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov went on winning that lightweight title by outclassing Al Iaquinta at UFC 223.
“I’m sure it’s just down to the right negotiations but yeah, I think it is building,” Roddy said. “This kind of started similarly with the Mayweather fight; there was talk, there was a bit of back and forth and a bit of drama and then once the crowd and once the fans get behind it, they ultimately create the fight. It’s brewing up nicely.”
Roddy said Mcgregor and his team is ready to lock horn with Russian as the deal is still underway.
“The striker’s always at 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 and it’s very, very difficult to do that without taking a big shot off Conor. It’s just about setting traps and putting his opponent in positions where they’re vulnerable. He’s got phenomenal takedown defense. You’ve seen that in some of his other fights. . . He’s no slouch there so we’re more than prepared to fight anybody.”
If this fight happens, who do you think between two great superstars will come out victorious?
