UFC: Conor McGregor Should Face Frankie Edgar, Says Joe Rogan
Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator Joe Rogan is not too thrilled about the proposed rematch between new UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former ruler Jose Aldo. Instead, he wants to see a showdown between McGregor and Frankie Edgar.
McGregor took the featherweight title from Aldo via a first-round knockout win during their UFC 194 showdown on Saturday. The then-challenger needed just 13 seconds to dispose Aldo, who has ruled the division for 10 years.
Fans and Aldo's camp are calling for a rematch, but Rogan said that McGregor should consider other options because he thinks it will be hard for them to sell a second fight. Aldo is tipped to get a rematch because he ruled the division for several years, but Rogan said fans will not be too interested because of how quick the first fight ended.
"The problem with doing a rematch with Conor McGregor and Aldo is that it would be so hard to sell when a guy gets knocked out quick," Rogan said via MMA Fighting. "When you hype it up for as long as you did, for two separate events, it dies off and then the first punch Conor connects with puts him out? It's hard to sell that."
Rogan reiterated that fight fans are looking for an exciting match up in terms of styles. For him, McGregor should skip the rematch with Aldo and just defend his title against Edgar, who is coming off a first-round knockout win against Chad Mendes on Friday. Edgar also ran away with a unanimous decision victory against Urijah Faber in May.
"If you wanted to make the most intriguing stylistic matchup, I think it's Frankie Edgar," Rogan said. "A guy who won the title at 155 pounds, beat legends in B.J. Penn, just knocked out Chad Mendes with one punch, before that beat the f**k out of Cub Swanson. He's smashed everyone they've put in front of him for a few years now."
Rogan believes Edgar, who holds a 20-4-1 record, will give McGregor a run for his money because of his superb conditioning, wrestling skills and "fantastic" footwork, which he showed during his previous fights. He added that striking coach Mark Henry is also capable of mapping out a perfect fight plan against McGregor.
As for Aldo, Rogan said that like former UFC women's bantamweight champion, the former featherweight kingpin should take a break before returning to the Octagon for his next fight.
"Some people are mad that I said I don't think it's smart that Aldo fight right away," Rogan said. "First of all, Aldo got knocked dead. When you get knocked dead like that you need a long time off. You need at least six months off."
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