The question of what comes next for Conor McGregor after his spectacular submission defeat last Saturday at UFC 196 continues to linger.
The Irish superstar was originally scheduled to meet injured lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at 155 pounds, a bout that continues to be a possibility. He still holds the UFC’s featherweight title, which has to be defended eventually. Frankie Edgar is a possible contender who has been campaigning for a shot for months. Another one is former champion Jose Aldo, who went unbeaten for 10 years until a shocking 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in December.
McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh revealed on the latest episode of The MMA Hour that he likes the latter option best.
“Me personally, maybe the Aldo rematch, I’d like to see that again,” he said. “I just think the first one was great for us, but it was a little bit unfulfilling…a little bit. I think Aldo has a fantastic set of skills, he was a great champion and I didn’t think that quite closed the chapter on that. So, [let’s] see a proper fight.
“I think stylistically it would be a very nice fight to watch and a very good challenge. So that’s my personal opinion, but like I said, I’m not the decision-maker on that.”
The Aldo option would certainly be an interesting one, but at least one person won’t like the idea at all: Frankie Edgar.
“Frankie, he’s a great fighter as well,” Kavanagh said. “I just… you know Frankie’s lost to Aldo and Aldo just had such an amazing run. He just got caught with that very, very hard shot and went down fast. That’s just how that fight went. But just for me, because I think I learned so much just watching it, to have a good back-and-forth fight, I just think it would be for me I’d get a year’s worth of material to coach off for the next 20 years off. So, that would be my personal preference. But, if it’s Frankie or if it’s Dos Anjos or if it’s another 170 fight, I’m happy just to be there.”
McGregor has already noted that he might return back down to 145 next and that Aldo would deserve a rematch, but that the Brazilian has a “habit of pulling out” of fights. He has made no clear statement so far on who he would like to face next.
(Transcription via MMA Fighting)
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