'We got to bring all that back' - John Kavanagh reveals what changes Conor McGregor will be making in Dustin Poirier trilogy fight
Conor McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, has stated that his student will have to reignite his mixed martial arts skills for the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier.
Defeated at UFC 257 by Poirier, Conor McGregor is looking to come into the possible third fight with a fresh approach. The last time out, McGregor was simply outclassed.
According to coach Kavanagh, the "Notorious One" should have further developed different MMA skills instead of focusing most of his attention on his boxing.
Speaking to BT Sport's Adam Catterall, Kavanagh relived the fight at UFC 257 and explained that a more favorable atmosphere to Conor McGregor would still not have produced a different outcome.
"I don't think any amount of pre-fight shenanigans would have changed that [the defeat] or any interview requests or any screaming fans," Kavanagh said.
The legendary MMA coach revealed what he believes would make Conor McGregor the favorite for the trilogy fight with Poirier.
"We have to fix that technical detail which I don't think it's like having to fix everything; it's fixing a small enough area. [We need to] get that back into the whole game, you know, not going in with sort of a boxing mentality, going in with an MMA mentality," Kavanagh said.
"Conor McGregor was always famous for his movement, his ability to change stances, his bounce, as he would say. And we got to bring all that back. And it's there. It's under the hood, it's not 'skills have to be learned,' even relearned. They just have to be reignited, and we've already started that process. So, let's say, 'wouldn't it be great to do it again?' In the summer, maybe in Vegas in front of 20 thousand screaming people if we can get the world back open again," Kavanagh concluded.
The UFC is attempting to make the fight against Poirier this summer, with May being the most likely scenario since there are no title fights during that month.
Why was Conor McGregor focusing on his boxing so much?
There were strong suggestions that Conor McGregor would be ready to face legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao in 2020 after his bout with Dustin Poirier.
However, it seems that people interested in promoting that fight were not expecting that the outcome of UFC 257 would be negative.
After Conor McGregor has declared his wish to fight Poirier for the third time, the boxing match has been put on hold. Pacquiao is already eyeing new opponents.