As is always the way with MMA, the story has taken another turn.
According to Conor McGregor’s striking coach, Owen Roddy, there is still uncertainty surrounding his fighter’s next opponent.
It was reported last week that the UFC featherweight champion was set to move up to 155 lbs to take on lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 197 on March 5th.
well @rowdyowenroddy just put it perfectly. "we'll be there march 5th, doesnt matter who is opponent." that's all we can say #UFC197
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) January 11, 2016
The official announcement of that bout was expected at the weekend, during the NFL play-off broadcasts, but never arrived.
Reports from Brazilian media suggest that McGregor is holding out for a more lucrative contract before signing the fight agreement but, judging by Roddy’s comments, ‘The Notorious’ is already preparing for that date with the only doubt being that an opponent isn’t set in stone yet.
“All I know just from listening to Conor is that he is fighting March 5,” Roddy said on TheMMAHour. “The opponent is up in the air. It could be dos Anjos. It could be whoever. But the thing is Conor is looking to fight March 5.
“Realistically, everybody wants to see Conor, so the opponent is not really important. I’m sure he’ll be fighting March 5. So stay tuned.”
The fact that McGregor was so hell bent on a fight at lightweight next would lead one to believe that Frankie Edgar is out of the equation until the summer so who else could be in the discussion? Nate Diaz? Tony Ferguson? Donald Cerrone?
Only time will tell.
Feature image via @RowdyOwenRoddy
