All signs are pointing towards a fight with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for former double champion Conor McGregor’s return fight.
But not everyone is happy about that.
“If Conor wants the most chance of success, I would say fight a guy who is a little below championship level,” Rogan said on a recent episode of “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson.” “Maybe a guy on the come-up, who Conor has an advantage over, but it’s still a competitive fight. Give him a test, but don’t put him in there right away with Usman.”
Rogan used the example of boxers when they return from a long layoff and take a tune up fight to get reacquainted with the sport.
“I think, honestly, when boxers come back from a long layoff and they come back from a loss, one thing that boxers do that’s smart is they have a tune-up fight,” Rogan said. “I think there’s a reason why they’ve been using tune-up fights forever like astute managers. They know you’ve got to knock the dust off and you’ll be better in the next performance. To jump right into a Dustin Poirier or right into, name it, Michael Chandler, like right into a guy who’s the elite of the elite.”
Despite Rogan giving his somewhat expert advice, he’s certain that McGregor will do whatever he thinks best, not what the public wants.
“I think what Conor needs to do is what Conor wants to do,” he said. “If Conor thinks he can go up and fight Usman and make a big payday, try to become a three-division champion, he should do that. He should do whatever he wants to do, but if I was like a manager to him, and I said what’s the best path to success, the best path to success is like the ‘Cowboy’ fight. No disrespect to ‘Cowboy,’ but that fight turned out to be kind of like a warm-up fight.”
There’s no set date for the return, though some think International Fight Week or an end-of-the-year card might host the potentially fight.
