Following a run of excellent UFC events over the past two weeks, longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan spoke about the lay of the land during his latest “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
Regarding Nate Diaz’s claims that UFC matchmaker told him a fight between he and Conor McGregor “is on,” Rogan questioned whether or not that is really the case.
“Do you really believe that Joe Silva told Nate Diaz that Conor McGregor “was next?” Rogan wondered. “Or is Nate Diaz just being a smart guy? I think Nate’s being smart. I think he’s talking s**t. I feel like there’s only one fight to make at featherweight. It’s 100 percent Frankie Edgar. Couldn’t be more emphatic about that, but as a fan I don’t mind this Nate Diaz fight [for McGregor].
“Here’s the question: Can they tell Conor who to fight now? Or is Conor so meteoric, is he so out of control, off the charts … What if Conor says, ‘I want to be a promoter.’ Co-promote in Croke Park. He almost [has that power].”
Rogan also explained why in a perfect world, he would try and book McGregor vs. Edgar as the next fight for “The Notorious” one.
“If I’m king of the world? I make the Frankie Edgar fight,” said Rogan. “I at least make an attempt to. I don’t know how much influence [UFC] has over him, but I would say, ‘Honestly, your future is probably at 155 pounds. You struggle to make 145 but your legacy will be complete if you beat Frankie Edgar.'”
Finally, Rogan said he doesn’t picture McGregor immediately fighting for the UFC Lightweight title if he does in fact move up to the 155 pound division as he spoke about after his KO of Aldo at UFC 194.
“Abandon the 145 pound title and move up,” Rogan said of McGregor. “Jose Aldo meets Frankie Edgar in a rematch for the [featherweight] title. Then you have Nate Diaz vs. Conor as his first fight at 155 pounds. If he gets past Nate Diaz you 100 percent have him fight Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos fights Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson in the meantime.
“For the money, though, the real big money fight for Dos Anjos is obviously Conor.”