Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz: 'He's faster, he's bigger, he's stronger', reveals McGregor coach Owen Roddy

INTERVIEW: The SBG striking coach tells James Edwards we should prepare ourselves to witness the best McGregor yet on March 5 and why jumping up a weight level won't be a problem for the Irishman

Conor McGregor (GETTY IMAGES)

In news that broke late last evening, Nate Diaz will face Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in a fight fought at the 170lbs welterweight limit. Speaking earlier in the week, Owen Roddy, the long-time striking coach of McGregor spoke about his own recent accomplishments and what we can expect of McGregor competing at a higher weight class.

Achieving his black belt under John Kavanagh

Roddy has been a key member of McGregor's team dating back way before his UFC days and his recent media explosion. Owen himself has been a student of SBG head coach John Kavanagh for 16 years and just last week he received his black belt in a ceremony that involved him testing himself against 36 fellow SBG students.

"I had no idea, I had no clue the guys were coming over. I assumed they were just coming in to train but then John [Kavanagh] walked in the door," said Roddy.

"I still had no clue and thought they had just come to roll but then slowly but slowly the penny dropped when he started invited people onto the mat and it slowly dawned on me that something was going down.

"There were 36 guys there and I had to roll with every single one of them. I got a good few in but and I felt alright but it doesn't matter how much you pace yourself with 36 guys coming in to kill ya it takes it out of ya.

"Looking back, it was fun but maybe not at the time."

What the past year has been like coaching McGregor

Whilst Roddy is now a black belt at Brazilian Jui Jitsu, his role in Team McGregor is as a striking coach which is widely regarded as McGregor's biggest weapon.

The past year has seen McGregor's meteoric rise gather pace with wins against Denis Siver, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo cementing him as the king of the UFC featherweight division. Roddy said he was grateful but not surprised by the last twelve months.

"To do what he's done this year and for me to experience the way it's been for the last twelve months, it's been amazing," said Roddy.

"I feel really fortunate to have experienced all of that because not many people will have ever of had the year I've had. I really appreciate what I've had in the last twelve months but I truly believe I've worked hard my whole career and now I'm reaping the benefits of it."

His thoughts on McGregor competing at higher weight classes

Until yesterday, McGregor's next test was set to be against Rafael Dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title. This fight would have been the first that McGregor had taken at 155lbs in the UFC but now McGregor will jump up even higher to face Nate Diaz at 170lbs. Roddy believes being able to carry the extra weight has allowed McGregor to improve even further.

"The preparation has been fantastic. We've done a lot more rounds and he's had way more energy," Roddy revealed.

"He's a workhorse and puts it in any way but, you can see when he fights at featherweight that he doesn't quite have the same energy but for this camp, he's faster, he's bigger, he's stronger and he's in a happier place mentally.

"He just looks phenomenal buts I always say that every fight. He just seems to take it to the next level every time and become a way better version of himself."

Conor McGregor (GETTY IMAGES)

On why McGregor has been so good

Roddy believes that McGregor will hold exactly the same advantage over any opponent and that we shouldn't worry about his power as he hits just as hard as a middleweight.

"He has the same advantage that he has over everybody and his ability to find that shot that puts people away and execute them," said Roddy.

"It's inevitable that Conor finds that shot. He's got 25 minutes in there and anybody is bound to get hit once in 25 minutes I don't care who you are."

"He could land one in the first 30 seconds never mind in 25 minutes. His ability to find the holes and put the shots in is what makes him unique. He hits like a middleweight."

How will Conor fair at Welterweight?

Even before McGregor's rescheduled fight with Diaz rumours were already circulating that he might go on to face Robbie Lawler at UFC 200 for the welterweight belt. Roddy thinks the weight jump from featherweight to welterweight wouldn't be a problem and said that he would even have to cut weight to make the 170lbs weight limit.

"Conor would love to do it. Conor walks around 80 kilos (177lbs) and he'd still be cutting a bit at '77'," said Roddy.

"Trust me, at that weight, he would still be knocking people out without a doubt."

"He's hit very hard and punches way above his weight. He's very, very accurate and those two things combined they are devastating," he concluded.

UFC lightweight Nate Diaz (Getty Images)

On achieving his own personal goals

The 'Notorious' and Diaz will today take part in an open workout session LA and will talk to the press for the first time ahead of their clash in 10 days.

In the meantime, Roddy will be attending BAMMA 24 this Saturday to watch some the upcoming SBG hopefuls continue to pave their path's to the top. Taking some his own young fighters to the top like his coach Kavanagh has done is something Roddy is striving to achieve:

"My ambition when working with Conor was to help him achieve his goals," said Roddy.

"For myself, now as a coach of my own gym SBG Charlestown, my goals is to start to bring my own guys to that level. Training under John Kavanagh for 16 years now I've learnt a lot from him and I watch how he does things and I'm just trying imitate things and get to his level now.

"I've had one guy whose turned pro now is 3-0 and I have a couple of other guys who are close to turning pro. Maybe in another couple of years I can start to bring my guys into the UFC.

"My goal is to help out as much as I can. There are a lot of guys I work with now down at SBG Concorde and I see it as my job to help them out, give them advice and help them achieve their goals. That's what I get my kicks out of now."

The fight may have changed but some things always stay the same - Roddy will be in the corner of McGregor on March 5 at the MGM Grand and no doubt for a long time after.