Manager: McGregor will fight again at 145

Submission Radio had several awesome guests this week, including retired UFC fighter and current commentator Brian Stann, Conor McGregor’s manager Pradigm founder Audie Attar, and combat sports legal expert Erik Magraken. UG founder Kirik Jenness also appeared.

While doubts have been expressed about McGregor ever returning to 135 where he is the champion, Attar said it would have already happened, so it won’t.

“That would have already happened,” he explained. “Cause you know, that’s something that Conor was adamant about. He wants to keep his belt, he’s gonna defend it, and at the end of the day, if he was gonna vacate, it would have already happened.

The reason cited for McGregor potentially moving up is the obvious difficulty he has had making weight in the past.

You always worry about any athlete that’s cutting unhealthy,” said Attar. “I think to watch how hard it is in terms of the discipline; I think that’s what I’m more in awe of. But I’ve never seen him, per se, pass out and do some things that are unhealthy. Even in terms of how he gets down, right? He does it all natural and just by a lot of hard work and a lot of discipline. So at the end of the day, I want him to feel comfortable.”

At the end of the day, I’ve never seen it to be that extreme as you were kind of making it out to be. I do know that per his reaction for not cutting weight, I’d rather him do what he’s more happier to do as an athlete. But these guys, again, just have to put in so much work and have such a high level of discipline, it’s unlike any layperson. You know, for you to train that many times a day, for you to eat that strict and disciplined. A normal [person] can’t do it, right?

Attar the addressed the possibility of McGregor fighting Frankie Edgar, which would clean out the division, and then permanently moving up.

I think that all possibilities are on the table, right?” he replied. “And I think you have to go one fight at a time. I think that that’s the beautiful thing about this sport. You have maybe two, three fights a year, but these moves may be two years from now, right? So just depending on when they happen, you don’t know, maybe they never happen, you know, in our lifetime, as in some of the past lures and super fights that never happened in this sport, right? So at the end of the day, it’s like right now the main focus I think for Conor, as it should be, is nothing but his business and UFC 200 and having another go at it.

I think he’s gonna fight his fight [in the rematch vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 200]. “I think he’s gonna not try to force things, I think he’s gonna manage his energy a lot better and I think you’re gonna see a different outcome. I think if you looked at how the fight started, you know, I liked how Conor looked. And so in terms of Diaz having a full camp, Diaz is one of the best fighters in the game. There’s no question. And he’s an athletic freak and he’s a gym rat – I should say training rat – he’s always working in the gym, he does all types of stuff. But I don’t care if he’s taking a couple of shots of Patron, doesn’t mean he’s not training either the day before, the day of, or the day after. You know? So at the end of the day, I think it’s going to be great for Nate. Hopefully. it just means the fans are treated to just one hell of a fight at UFC 200 and it’s just an amazing event.

The manager also discussed the possibility of a superfight vs. a returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

I think that I can tell you from an official standpoint, it’s not like it’s something that’s ever been discussed,” he said. “But when you hear the market reacting, the market speculating about it, it only sets up for a potential super fight, right? So I think that’s a good thing. It’s healthy for the sport and I think that now that you’re starting to see kinda out-of-division superfights, it’s pretty cool, right? At the end of the day, sometimes a belt doesn’t necessarily have to be on the line for it to be the most anticipated or watched event in the sport’s history. So that’s exciting for all of us who love the sport, who work in the sport as well, and the fans I know are just delighted to get the treats that we’re kind of teeing up.

I would say that the goal of having the best records all around in the game is something that Conor has publicly stated he wants to do, and I think for us, we share that type of ambition at Paradigm. So at the end of the day, you know, whether it’s GSP or whoever it may be, the super fights are what we want and we want to continue just to grow the sport globally.

The UFC is making the Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar fight at UFC 200 for an interim title, something the manager could appreciate.

I thought it’s a smart decision by the UFC,” said Attar. “I think you got them on the same card as us and now it hypes up that title defense. So at the end of the day, it’s a tough decision. Who do you give it to? If we were actually going to defend the title right now, who do you give it to? Do you give it to a guy like Jose who’s never lost, right? So does he deserve the automatic rematch? Or a guy like Frankie, who’s just kind of built up this momentum and fan support of claiming that he’s next in line, right? So I think having them fight is a smart decision because it builds their profile up in potentially the biggest card in the sports history and then sets up for a nice little rematch.