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Owen Roddy is Conor McGregor's long-time striking coach and the two have absolute confidence in each other's abilities. Roddy is considered a torchbearer in Irish MMA and, at one point, was believed to be the person who would bring Ireland its first win inside the octagon.
Here are five things you need to know about Owen Roddy, the man who has been by the side of Conor McGregor throughout his MMA career:
Owen Roddy is one of the original students of John Kavanagh
Owen Roddy is from Ballymum and took up Mixed Martial Arts at the age of 18. Roddy was one of coach John Kavanagh's original students at Straight Blast Gym, when MMA was still a relatively unknown sport in Ireland. While John Kavanagh thinks very highly of his pupil, he is also glad to have him in the role of a coach.
In an interview with Vice Sports, Kavanagh revealed that he had entrusted Owen Roddy with the kids program at SBG owing to his excellence as a coach. John Kavanagh told Vice:
"I was always pressing him — for 100 percent selfish reasons — to focus more on the coaching. He runs my kids program, he’s an amazing kid’s coach and he teaches a lot of the stand up striking classes to all levels in SBG. If you want to be a professional in the fight game you’ve got to be selfish with your time, but Owen is always looking to help out everybody. He was a fantastic fighter, but I’m glad that he is in a coaching role now.”
Since his retirement, Roddy has opened up his own MMA training facility, called Coach Owen Roddy MMA in Malahide, Ireland, where he trains future fighters.
Owen Roddy's fight record
Owen Roddy made his professional MMA debut in 2005 and amassed a 11-4 record before hanging up his gloves for good in 2013. Although 'Rowdy' Owen Roddy might have made a name for himself as a striking coach, his first MMA victory came via submission.
In his MMA debut in November 2005 at Ultimate Fighting Revolution 4 in Northern Ireland, Roddy emerged victorious after choking out Mark Robinson in the second round. In his very next fight against Nayeb Hezam, Roddy would submit to an armbar in the first round.
In his next five outings, Owen Roddy went 3-2 before going on a spectacular 7-fight win streak. Roddy did not lose a fight from 2008 to 2012 before being choked out by Wilson Reis in the third round at the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 50 in Glasgow, Scotland. As per records, that was the last time Owen Roddy competed professionally in MMA.
Conor McGregor has long credited Owen Roddy for his success
Owen Roddy abrubtly retired in 2013 with four knockout victories, six submissions and one decision to his name. However, his pupil Conor McGregor is confident that a UFC contract was on the line for Roddy if he'd continued fighting professionally.
Speaking highly of Owen Roddy, McGregor told Vice Sports:
“Owen Roddy is always in my corner. There was an issue in Boston, but it will be great to have Owen back on Saturday. He’s been a major part of my success, anytime I need him Roddy is always there. I’ve learned so much from him. He would 100% be in the UFC today if he was still competing. It breaks my heart that he’s not here today. He is a success without getting here though."
One fateful night in Tallaght
Known to be an entertaining fighter, there might be several things to cherish about Owen Roddy's fighting career but none more so than his fight against Shannon Gugerty at Cage Contenders 14.
Roddy was doing well in front of a home crowd in Ireland when Gugerty, the UFC Dragon, locked him in a triangle and started snaking his arms under Roddy's chin. Describing one of the most crucial moments of his career, Owen Roddy later said:
"I just remember looking up to the ceiling like, Jesus, Owen, you can’t go out like this. Honestly, like, you haven’t even started yet. And look at all the people,” Owen says. The choke was fully on, it was under the chin. I remember getting to the point to where everything was black except for a little spot, and just turning in to get a little bit more blood to the brain, and [thinking] ‘just stick in there, Owen, you’re doing alright, you’re doing alright’ — then he really went fucking nasty with the choke, he put the hips in as much as he could and I went tunnel vision again… and I thought I was going. I thought I was going out."
As the fight looked to be nearing an inevitable end, Rowdy Owen Roddy miraculously gutted his way out of the choke, right back to his feet. The fight went the distance with Roddy giving it all he had in the third round before collapsing on the canvas, exhausted. The National Basketball Arena shook like thunder that night when Rowdy Owen Roddy was declared the winner via unanimous decision.
Owen Roddy paved the way for MMA in Ireland
Roddy is often described as someone who is unaware of his own worth and shies away from praise and compliments. Hence it is likely that Owen Roddy himself has little knowledge of the role he has played in taking Irish MMA to the heights that it has scaled today. Irish journalist Peter Carroll said of the legend:
"It’s tough for him, I think. It’s like he doesn’t realize how important he is. I’ll be like, ‘Roddy, all of this around us — I know you’re not fighting anymore, but if you didn’t show these boys how to do it, I wonder if they could’ve gotten here so quickly and understood this?’ He just goes, ‘No, no, no. What did I do? What did I do?’ And we’re all sitting there trying to say, ‘Man, we wouldn’t even be fucking doing this if we hadn’t gone to your fights.’ He’s just, he’s a leader in a different way than most people are. He commands so much respect in Ireland. Conor still idolizes him. It’s absolutely amazing."
