Kavanagh: Conor McGregor’s confidence ‘will be there again’ for Diaz rematch at UFC 200

Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh spoke about the upcoming rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200.

John Kavanagh spoke about his pupil’s upcoming rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200, and it’s where he discussed Conor McGregor’s confidence after losing that first match up.

“The wins never changed Conor so I don’t believe the losses will either,” Kavanagh wrote for The 42. “His confidence is a product of the training we do so it will be there again in the lead-up to this fight, because we will train in a way that makes us feel nothing but confident.”

“If Conor went into the last fight and was completely wiped out in every area, it would be pretty hard to be absolutely confident going into a rematch.”

As for where they seem to draw confidence from that bout, Kavanagh cites the first round and says that it showed McGregor is the more skilled fighter.

“But the skills were there. When the strategy veered off course, that led to exhaustion and the dynamic of the fight changed. An exhausted opponent is not difficult to defeat. That’s a mistake we made,” he continued. “The training and the strategy will be different this time. So too will the result.”

He also repeated what Conor has been saying about being efficient with energy against a bigger man, and taking the bout on short notice.

“Conor’s cardio wasn’t as it should have been, but there was certainly no complacency. We didn’t train any differently for the fight. I believe it was more a case of there being a strategy error i.e. trying to stop a bigger man who’s known for having a strong chin with every single punch.”

“When you’re landing punches on any opponent, it gets tiring. There’s no two ways about that. With a strategy adjustment, the fight is going to play out in a similar manner to that first round, but this time it will continue throughout the contest. I do believe Conor is the more skilful fighter and the first round was evidence of that. But we cannot make the same mistake by trying to remove his head with every single punch.”

“It was a fight that was set up on short notice and it didn’t go our way, but there are certainly no regrets about going ahead with it when turning it down would have been very understandable.”

Diaz accepted the bout while downing tequila shots in Cabo, and had less than two weeks notice before the high profile bout. While he didn’t have the luxury McGregor had of getting quality sparring and training before UFC 196, Diaz overcame adversity and still managed to outlast and beat the featherweight champ.

Will Conor’s adjustments be enough to win him the rematch? Or will an in-shape Diaz with a full training camp pose even bigger problems for the Irishman? We’ll find out soon, but for what it’s worth, bookmakers had McGregor as a slight favorite initially, and the odds have slowly shifted towards Diaz’s favor.

Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh spoke about the upcoming rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200.

John Kavanagh spoke about his pupil’s upcoming rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200, and it’s where he discussed Conor McGregor’s confidence after losing that first match up.

“The wins never changed Conor so I don’t believe the losses will either,” Kavanagh wrote for The 42. “His confidence is a product of the training we do so it will be there again in the lead-up to this fight, because we will train in a way that makes us feel nothing but confident.”

“If Conor went into the last fight and was completely wiped out in every area, it would be pretty hard to be absolutely confident going into a rematch.”

As for where they seem to draw confidence from that bout, Kavanagh cites the first round and says that it showed McGregor is the more skilled fighter.

“But the skills were there. When the strategy veered off course, that led to exhaustion and the dynamic of the fight changed. An exhausted opponent is not difficult to defeat. That’s a mistake we made,” he continued. “The training and the strategy will be different this time. So too will the result.”

He also repeated what Conor has been saying about being efficient with energy against a bigger man, and taking the bout on short notice.

“Conor’s cardio wasn’t as it should have been, but there was certainly no complacency. We didn’t train any differently for the fight. I believe it was more a case of there being a strategy error i.e. trying to stop a bigger man who’s known for having a strong chin with every single punch.”

“When you’re landing punches on any opponent, it gets tiring. There’s no two ways about that. With a strategy adjustment, the fight is going to play out in a similar manner to that first round, but this time it will continue throughout the contest. I do believe Conor is the more skilful fighter and the first round was evidence of that. But we cannot make the same mistake by trying to remove his head with every single punch.”

“It was a fight that was set up on short notice and it didn’t go our way, but there are certainly no regrets about going ahead with it when turning it down would have been very understandable.”

Diaz accepted the bout while downing tequila shots in Cabo, and had less than two weeks notice before the high profile bout. While he didn’t have the luxury McGregor had of getting quality sparring and training before UFC 196, Diaz overcame adversity and still managed to outlast and beat the featherweight champ.

Will Conor’s adjustments be enough to win him the rematch? Or will an in-shape Diaz with a full training camp pose even bigger problems for the Irishman? We’ll find out soon, but for what it’s worth, bookmakers had McGregor as a slight favorite initially, and the odds have slowly shifted towards Diaz’s favor.