If Joe Rogan was Joe Silva…
On his latest JRE podcast, Joe Rogan stepped into Joe Silva’s shoes for a spell, and explained what he would do next with Conor McGregor.
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva were among the chosen few who started with the SEG-owned version of the UFC, and continue to this day under ZUFFA ownership. On his latest JRE podcast, Rogan stepped into Joe Silva’s shoes for a spell, and explained what he would do next with Conor McGregor.
At featherweight, former champion Jose Aldo wants a rematch, and says he has earned it, being the divisions’s founding champion, without a loss for nearly a decade. Frankie Edgar says he has earned a shot at McGregor, by smashing all the other contenders (cept Aldo).
But McGregor says he plans to fight next at lightweight, against Rafael dos Anjos. And Nick Diaz says Joe Silva told him he gets the next shot.
Oh, and the UFC is not keen on the entire two-division champion idea.
“Do you really believe that Joe Silva told Nate Diaz that Conor McGregor ‘was next,'” wondered Rogan as transcribed by David St. Martin. “Or is Nate Diaz just being a smart guy? I think Nate’s being smart. I think he’s talking s—. 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.
“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 can.”
“If I’m king of the world? I make the Frankie Edgar fight. 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.'”
If McGregor opts to leave the featherweight division, Rogan doesn’t picture the Irishman fighting for the lightweight title right away.
“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.”
