'Loud, aggressive, witty, sharp, cocky' - John Kavanagh reveals his first impressions of Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, has said that the Irishman hasn't changed a bit from the first time he saw him. When asked about his first impressions of the former UFC lightweight champion, Kavanagh replied with McGregor's notorious attributes.
Kavanagh has been training Conor McGregor since 2008 when 'The Notorious' enrolled himself at the Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Dublin.
Speaking to BT Sport in his latest interview, Kavanagh reflected on his relationship with McGregor. Revealing his first impressions of the Irish fighter, Kavanagh said:
"Loud, aggressive, witty, sharp, cocky. So, nothing has changed," said Kavanagh.
"He was always very intense in the lead up to a fight and this is going back to his almost semi-pro days, back in the day fighting on little shows in Ireland and the U.K. He was kind of one of those guys in the back of my head I thought this guy is incredible, but he is not really focused. And then, when he got his first Cage Warriors belt... He started becoming more consistent with his training, and then he went on to get the second belt."
Conor McGregor signed with the UFC in 2013 after he became a two-division champion in the Cage Warriors, and replicated the same feat in UFC when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to claim the lightweight championship.
"I don't even think I'm 50 per cent yet" - Conor McGregor
Ahead of his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, Conor McGregor thinks that he has not even reached 50 per cent of his full potential yet.
The Notorious last fought Donald Cerrone in January of 2020. He was coming off a devastating loss at Khabib Nurmagomedov's hands and ended up putting on a fantastic performance against 'Cowboy'. McGregor noted that he was not fully committed when he faced Nurmagomedov and that the Dagestani fought the worst of him that night.
However, speaking to The Mac Life, Conor McGregor has now stated that he feels better than ever before.
"I didn't just come here to get here you know. I will continue to go forward, to climb forward. I don't even think I have reached my potential. I don't even think I'm 50 percent yet. So, let's keep going... I'm just faster, I'm sharper. I'm more mentally tuned in. I'm certainly more well-conditioned," said McGregor