McGregor's striking coach wants McGregor-Edgar title bout for New York debut
Conor McGregor may have suffered his first loss inside the Octagon against Nate Diaz at UFC 196, but the Irishman still maintains his title as UFC featherweight champion.
And while the loss to Diaz may have been a major setback in his efforts to hold multiple belts simultaneously, there are plenty of big fights on the horizon for McGregor. Specifically, one with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
One person quite keen on the idea is McGregor's striking coach, Owen Roddy. The former fighter told SkySports that a fight with Edgar in New York, where MMA was recently made legal again for the first time in almost 20 years, would be more significant than just a title fight.
"That would be amazing, realistically that would be huge for the first New York show," Roddy told Sky Sports. "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."
McGregor vs. Edgar has been discussed by pundits and fans since McGregor's win over Dustin Poirier in 2014 but has never materialized for various reasons. Now that McGregor is champ, however, and his options at other weight classes are limited after his loss to Diaz, Edgar and Aldo appear to be the Irishman's only options at 145.
We explained why both McGregor and Edgar make sense for New York, but in essence, New York's large Irish population and the city's proximity to Ireland, as well as Edgar's roots in New Jersey, make it an easy sell for the UFC.
McGregor is reportedly scheduled to rematch Diaz at UFC 200. Regardless of the outcome, McGregor should be primed for a title defense at the UFC's first show at Madison Square Garden in New York, and even his coach thinks it should be against Frankie Edgar.
