"The last good fight I'll ever know" - John Kavanagh's cryptic social media post suggests one last ride for Conor McGregor
John Kavanagh has been by the side of Conor McGregor throughout the Irishman's mixed martial arts career.
Hours before the much-anticipated UFC 264 trilogy fight, John Kavanagh posted a throwback picture of himself and Conor McGregor when they were younger.
The post was accompanied by a cryptic message in the form of a popular poem that hinted at the possibility that this could be Conor McGregor's last ride.
"Once more into the fray/ Into the last good fight I'll ever know/ Live and die on this day/ Live and die on this day," John Kavanagh wrote.
Conor McGregor liked the post and shared it on his own Instagram story.
The poem in the post by John Kavanagh is taken from the 2011 survival movie titled The Grey, starring Liam Neeson in the lead role and co-starring Frank Grillo and Dermot Mulroney. The movie is based on the short story Ghost Walker by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers. The story is about a group of oil drill employees stuck in the freezing terrains of Alaska after a plane crash, where they must fight off several packs of ferocious Canadian Grey Wolves.
The poem is recited by Liam Neeson's character John Ottway in the final scenes of the movie, where he is seen facing the alpha wolf of the pack, prepared to fight the animal alone with a knife and shards of glass bottles.
The writer-director of the movie, Joe Carnahan, explained in an interview how he took inspiration from William Shakespeare's play Henry V while penning the poem for the movie. In the play, King Henry V delivers a moving speech to his battalion ahead of the Battle of Agincourt that starts with the line - "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."
Between the determination of Henry V's speech from The Bard's play and the philosophical notes surrounding survival from The Grey, the lines make a perfect choice for the post. Whether it is indeed Conor McGregor's final fight in the octagon or not remains to be seen.
John Kavanagh is 'Proper Proud' of Conor McGregor's USADA record
John Kavanagh had posted the same picture once before, captioning it "Since Day 1." Indeed, Kavanagh has been with Conor McGregor since his first day at Dublin's Straight Blast Gym.
John Kavanagh has seen the Irishman's rise to global superstardom from up close, but he has also remained a witness to his protege's ever-clean record with the USADA. He recently shared a post by Conor McGregor in which he boasted of 71 clean USADA tests and said that he was 'Proper Proud' of his longtime student.