John Kavanagh discusses if he will stop coaching when Conor McGregor retires from MMA
Conor McGregor has been brought up, seasoned, and designed by one of the pioneers of MMA in Ireland, John Kavanagh.
John Kavanagh arrived at Fight Island earlier this week to take Conor McGregor's corner at UFC 257 as head coach, as always. One member of the press asked John whether he would retire from the MMA world along with Conor McGregor, whenever that happens. John Kavanagh replied:
"It's kind of funny. It's almost like a relief to get that out of the way. Some coaches will spend their career to chase that world title. And I kind of got it early. I kind of got all of this early. So, that's sort of gone now. And, now I have an incredible group of guys in their late teens and early twenties that are coming through. You sort of have that weight off your shoulders. Now, it's just the sports aspect. I've obviously learned from being around Conor a lot on this side of things, and promotional side of things. But, now it becomes really about the sport and just try to enjoy it with the next group of guys."
A coach's age bracket is much broader and expandable than that of a fighter. John Kavanagh has been in Conor McGregor's corner since even before he started taking MMA seriously, almost as if John directed the rags-to-riches story of Conor McGregor himself. Thus, the two names will forever be linked to each other in the history of MMA.
However, it looks like 'The Godfather of Irish MMA' will continue striving to shape up more and more killers at the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin.
What does John Kavanagh have to say about Conor McGregor's "conditioning problem"
As the fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier draws closer, many people believe that Conor's "problem with conditioning" will work towards Poirier's advantage. Dustin Poirier's camp feels that this will definitely be a point in his favor, too.
Does John Kavanagh feel the same way? Absolutely not. Speaking to the media ahead of the fight, John said that this school of thought is nothing but "false hope".
Conor McGregor also stated earlier that he wants to prove to the fight world that he has the ability to give his all for five rounds. In fact, he even said that he wished to have an all-out war with Poirier, silencing those who critique his conditioning for good.