Following the wild UFC 194 pay-per-view on Saturday, longtime UFC announcer shared his thoughts on the event and his thoughts on how UFC should book Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo going forward.
According to Rogan, there are a number of reasons why UFC should not book an immediate Aldo-McGregor rematch, including the fact that Aldo was “knocked dead” and that it would be “hard to sell.”
“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 Monday on his podcast, which you can watch in full above. “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 elaborated, explaining why Frankie Edgar is “The Answer” UFC is looking for when it comes to “The Notorious” ones’ next opponent and first UFC Featherweight title defense.
“I think a lot of what [UFC] has done has been based on what compelling contenders they have for that title,” said Rogan. “Compelling contenders where you look at their style and the style of the current champion. If you wanted to make the most intriguing stylistic matchup, I think it’s Frankie Edgar. 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 smushed everyone they’ve put in front of him for a few years now. He’s a monster.”
Rogan continued, reminding fans there are medical facts to take into consideration when planning out the next fights coming out of Saturday’s show.
“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. Conor McGregor could fight next Tuesday and so could Frankie Edgar.
“I think that fight would be f*cking bananas. For a fan, I’m so excited to see that fight. Frankie has a very dangerous style for a guy like Conor who was taken down repeatedly by Chad Mendes. He’s a nasty wrester. His cardio is off the chain. His footwork is fantastic. He’s got [striking coach] Mark Henry in his corner. They’re going to come up with a badass gameplan. Between Henry and [McGregor coach John Kavanagh] and a winner like Frankie and a winner like Conor, goddamn.”
