Yahoo Sports Conor McGregor's longtime coach won't commit to training him for future fights
Conor McGregor has been busy lately, but not with fighting. He’s been promoting his new spirit, Proper No. 12 whiskey. But he’ll probably get back to fighting eventually. And when (or if) he does, it might be with a new coach.
John Kavanagh, McGregor’s longtime head coach, recently gave a lengthy interview to Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent. Kavanagh talked about McGregor’s legacy, about their history together (he’s been with McGregor since 2008), and he also touched on their future. And as far as fighting is concerned, Kavanagh doesn’t sound like he wants to be part of it.
Here’s his exchange with Kimmage from the Independent.
JK: Well, he would certainly have to convince me to go again.
PK: Really?
JK: Yeah, I love him. I love the whole journey we’ve had but I’d need a good ‘why’. It might be Diaz again because he promised that fight. It might be a rematch with Khabib. But if it was just: ‘Well, they want me to fight that guy’ I think I’d say, ‘I wish you the best.’
Kavanagh doesn’t close the door on training McGregor in the future, but he said he needs a good reason, or at least a good fight, to do it. As for why, Kavanagh gave a reason that has nothing to do with him and everything to do with McGregor.
PK: It would be a big call.
JK: It would but again, I’ll come back to my reasoning. He has a wife and two kids now and I don’t want him taking more hits than he needs to. Khabib hit him with a punch in that fight that he has never been hit with in his career. And even Superman slows down at some stage.
He’s concerned about McGregor’s health, and his ability to keep taking punches like the ones Khabib Nurmagomedov peppered him with during their bout at UFC 229. He specifically mentioned McGregor’s wife and kids, and he seems to be worried about the fighter being there for them in the future. Considering the literal beatings McGregor has taken (like all MMA fighters), he’s not wrong to be concerned.
Kavanagh even doubts whether McGregor will fight again, or even if he wants to. After Kimmage asked him a question about a possible rematch with Khabib, this is how he answered:
Honestly? I don’t know. Will he fight again? I don’t know. I know him as a person and know that coming off two losses – even though one was boxing – will be hard for him. But he’s 30, two kids and has a big whiskey deal that’s making him more money than fighting ever did. Would you get up in the morning to be punched in the face? I don’t think so. But he’ll probably call me tomorrow and say: ‘What did you say that for? I’m fighting in March.’ So I don’t know.
“Would you get up in the morning to be punched in the face” is a pretty powerful statement on its own. McGregor has been training and fighting, at the amateur level or professionally, since 2006. That’s a lot of mornings and a lot of punches.
But Kavanagh also admits that he doesn’t know what McGregor will do. Maybe he’ll come to Kavanagh with a meaningful fight, like a rematch against Nurmagomedov. It doesn’t seem like McGregor would settle for less than a top shelf opponent at this point, so maybe he’ll be able to convince Kavanagh to coach him for one last glorious go-round.
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