UFC star Conor McGregor backed to be ‘fantastic coach’ when he retires from MMA

The Irishman, 33, has two fights left on his current UFC contract

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Wednesday 08 December 2021 12:31 GMT
Comments
FILE: UFC President Dana White and family tests positive for COVID-19

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Conor McGregor will be a “fantastic” mixed martial arts coach if he pursues that venture once his fighting career is over, according to his head trainer.

John Kavanagh has been in McGregor’s corner for the entirety of the former UFC dual-weight champion’s stint in the promotion, and the 44-year-old has suggested that ‘Notorious’ could one day do the same for a budding fighter.

“I’m hoping he’ll fall into that role,” Kavanagh told the BBC.

“He is a fantastic coach. Back in the day, he used to take my boxing classes.

“It wasn’t that long ago, and he was walking through the gym and there was a beginner boxer class starting.

“He just walked in and went: ‘Oh, I’ll take this class today.’

“You could see everybody just froze and he spent an hour-and-a-half on the mat with absolute beginners, trying to perfect their jab. It was pretty amazing to watch.”

McGregor last fought in July, breaking his leg at the end of the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman is still recovering from that injury and is expected to return to the Octagon next summer at the earliest, having confirmed recently that he is set to be healthy enough to spar by April.

Kavanagh said this week that his preferred opponent for McGregor’s comeback contest would be Tony Ferguson or his fighter’s old rival Nate Diaz.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in