UFC News: Coach John Kavanagh reveals that "ring rust" was the prime reason for Conor's loss at UFC 229
What's the story?
A substantial amount of time away from the Octagon can render poor performances even in the case of champions. Such was the case for the former lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who had been away from fighting action since his last fight against Eddie Alvarez, in 2016. At the much-awaited UFC 229 event, things did not go as planned for McGregor and camp, and head coach John Kavanagh had something to say about this.
In case you didn't know...
John Kavanagh sat down for a 30-minute interview with Ariel Helwani, where he revealed that a major reason for Conor's loss at UFC 229 against Khabib Nurmagomedov, can be attributed to ring rust. He further explains in the interview that the Irishman's absence from the ring for over two years did impact the 'pop in his shots', so to speak.
Here is what he said about Conor's absence from the ring:
”This one, like you said, it’s almost two years out. I said I didn’t think ring rust would play a part, but I have to be honest, when I look at it now, when I replay it in my head, I do feel like it played a little bit of a part. He didn’t quite get his shots off like he normally would. I thought defensively he did quite well, defended a lot of takedowns, especially in round 3. But Khabib is amazing, amazingly effective MMA fighter. His style is suffocating, it’s relentless, and he does it better than anyone else.”
Here is a video of the interview between John Kavanagh and Ariel Helwani:
The heart of the matter
During a podcast interview with UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, John Kavanagh explained the game plan that they sought after for the Khabib fight. He explains that they knew Khabib would go for a takedown in round one. Conor's main motive was to conserve the energy for the later rounds, where they hoped that Khabib would slow down. He further reveals that the plan for round two was to do as much damage as possible and operate within the guard, in case Conor was taken to the ground.
Kavanagh then explains how the entire camp and the crowd were surprised by Conor's comeback in round number three. He landed a decent number of strikes and stubbed the takedowns effectively. In round four, however, John Kavanagh recalls Khabib landing a solid takedown. He says that Conor made a mistake giving up the over-hook and revealed his back that eventually led to him being submitted.
What's next?
With Conor being the talk of the town because of the major upset against Khabib, it will be interesting to see what the UFC has planned for him next. There are talks floating around about a possible fight against Tony Ferguson, but that is yet to come to fruition.
Any thoughts or early predictions for McGregor's next opponent? Leave your comments below!