Conor McGregor may "only" be the UFC's interim featherweight titleholder right now, but in December, he wants to become undisputed champion against Jose Aldo and subsequently conquer the lightweight division. The brash Irishman has already sent multiple threats to 155-pounders, but legendary coach Rafael Cordeiro, who trains lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, strongly advises against the idea.
"This guy is a joker," he told GNP1.de. "He have to keep in his division, if he goes up, people gonna kill him."
In his infamous Chute Boxe academy, Cordeiro has produced some of the biggest stars of the sport, names such as Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Now he owns the Kings MMA gym in Huntington Beach, California, and currently has two UFC champions in his team, heavyweight kingpin Fabricio Werdum and lightweight titlist Dos Anjos.
Both are scheduled for respective title defenses, both in rematches. Werdum will face his predecessor Cain Velasquez again, While Dos Anjos is set for another dance with Donald Cerrone.
"I believe (Cain Velasquez) is a perfect opponent," Cordeiro said about the Velasquez fight. "Cain deserves all respect. You can say he's a legend inside UFC. But Fabricio became a legend, too. He beat all those tough guys in the world, Cain Velasquez, Fedor Emelianenko, Minotauro, so he beat a lot of guys."
"I believe Fabricio, he deserves his belt, he proved inside the Octagon he's the best heavyweight in the world. And I believe, Cain makes sense now, this fight is gonna be huge again," he said. "In the first fight they say (Velasquez) have no time to prepare right, so we gave him one more chance to show all those guys how good Fabricio trains, how good he fights. It's gonna be an amazing fight, for sure I believe that Fabricio can beat Cain again.
Cordeiro also weighed in on his lightweight champ's next fight against "Cowboy" Cerrone.
"Rafa beat Cerrone once, for sure, he's gonna beat him again. Rafa is another guy that trains hard, hard, hard and I believe, in the 155-pound division, he's the monster there. It's a new era, it's gonna be a Rafael era for a long, long time."
"I believe, he's the best 155er in the world," he said. "Not just because he has the belt now, but because he deserves it. I think he's gonna put on a great show there again, he's gonna beat Cerrone again. This fight don't go to the end, for sure. The guys gonna finish before round five."
No date has been set for Fabricio Werdum's rematch against Cain Velasquez yet. Rafael dos Anjos is expected to face Donald Cerrone on December 19, at UFC on FOX 17.
In the video interview, Cordeiro also talks about Shogun's recovery and possible next fight against Quinton Jackson, explains what Wanderlei Silva does with his life now, and looks forward to Japan's New Year's Eve event, headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. You can watch it above.
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