Tag: John Kavanagh

John Kavanagh: Chandler & Gaethje Are ‘Easier Fights’ For McGregor

John KavanaghSBG head coach and long-time mentor to Conor McGregor, John Kavanagh has labeled potential match-ups with Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje as “slightly easier fights” for ‘Notorious’ in comparison to the rematch with Dustin Poirier that is set to go down on January 23 at UFC 257. “I think in terms of opponent difficulty levels, […]

John Kavanagh

SBG head coach and long-time mentor to Conor McGregor, John Kavanagh has labeled potential match-ups with Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje as “slightly easier fights” for ‘Notorious’ in comparison to the rematch with Dustin Poirier that is set to go down on January 23 at UFC 257.

“I think in terms of opponent difficulty levels, Dustin would be the top of that group,” Kavanagh recently told TheMacLife. “So if one is replacing Dustin, there’s no nice way of saying it, but it’s a slightly easier fight. Dustin is the best of those guys, in my opinion.”

Kavanagh believes his fighter and undefeated Russian phenom Khabib Nurmagomedov stand out as the two best lightweight fighters in MMA. The renowned coach hopes McGregor gets another shot at ‘The Eagle’ who previously picked up a fourth-round submission win against the Irishman at UFC 229.

“I think Conor and Khabib are the two best lightweights, and it would be for me, of course from a coaching perspective, it would be phenomenal to see that contest again,” Kavanagh said. “Will he come back? You’re asking the wrong guy. That’s Khabib. He seems the type of guy that if he says something, that’s it, but like Dana has hinted, it seems to me there might be some wiggle room in those promises made. So you know, time will tell.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Do you agree with John Kavanagh? Are potential fights against Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje “easier” for Conor McGregor?

John Kavanagh Doesn’t Get Why Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier Isn’t For The Title

McGregor PoirierAs far as John Kavanagh is concerned, Conor McGregor should be fighting Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title. McGregor takes on Poirier in a lightweight bout that headlines the UFC 257 pay-per-view event taking place January 23 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. And despite Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement at UFC 254 in October, McGregor vs. Poirier […]

McGregor Poirier

As far as John Kavanagh is concerned, Conor McGregor should be fighting Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title.

McGregor takes on Poirier in a lightweight bout that headlines the UFC 257 pay-per-view event taking place January 23 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

And despite Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement at UFC 254 in October, McGregor vs. Poirier won’t be for an interim belt, let alone the seemingly vacant lightweight strap.

That’s because UFC president Dana White is still hoping to persuade Nurmagomedov out of retirement when they meet next month in Abu Dhabi. Should White be successful, Nurmagomedov — who currently holds 29 wins — will look to go 30-0 before likely retiring for good.

In that scenario, the lightweight title would be vacant again which is why McGregor’s head coach in Kavanagh wonders why a title isn’t on the line at UFC 257.

“I don’t really get why this one isn’t for the title, if I’m being 100 percent honest.” Kavanagh told The Mac Life (via MMA Fighting). “Maybe it’s Dana, this is a little carrot towards Khabib ‘do you really want this guy [to have it?].’ I don’t know. I know there’s stuff, the games that go on, I don’t involve myself in it.

“But this to me feels like it’s for the belt. But I guess at the very least the winner of this will be offered a title fight but who would that be against? It’s a bit of a strange scene we have in front of us, which makes it interesting.”

As for Nurmagomedov facing McGregor again to potentially go to 30-0? Kavanagh would love to see it as he believes they are the two best lightweights in the world.

That said, it’s all down to Nurmagomedov who has repeatedly expressed no interest in facing the Irishman again. Not to mention the fact that almost everyone in the combat sports world believes he’s a man of his word when it comes to retirement.

“I think Conor and Khabib are the two best lightweights,” Kavanagh said. “It would be for me from a coaching perspective, phenomenal to see that contest again. Will he come back? You’re asking the wrong guy. That’s Khabib.

“He seems the type of guy if he says something, that’s it, but like Dana has hinted, there might be some wiggle room in those promises made. Time will tell.”

Do you agree with Kavanagh that a belt should be on the line?

John Kavanagh Sends A Warning To Dustin Poirier: ‘He Knows That He Is Facing Somebody Who Can Shut Off His Light’

John Kavanagh knows mental warfare is a real thing, and he wonders how Dustin Poirier will handle that at UFC 257. On January 23, Poirier will rematch McGregor after they fought in 2014 with the Irishman winning by first-round knockout. For the SBG Ire…

John Kavanagh knows mental warfare is a real thing, and he wonders how Dustin Poirier will handle that at UFC 257. On January 23, Poirier will rematch McGregor after they fought in 2014 with the Irishman winning by first-round knockout. For the SBG Ireland head coach, he believes fighting someone who knocked you out early […]

John Kavanagh: Dustin Poirier Knows Conor McGregor Can ‘Shut His Lights Off’

McGregorJohn Kavanagh believes Dustin Poirier faces an uphill battle against Conor McGregor. Poirier faces McGregor in a lightweight bout that will headline the upcoming UFC 257 pay-per-view event taking place January 23 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. It is notably a rematch of their 2014 featherweight clash that saw McGregor use mind games as well […]

McGregor

John Kavanagh believes Dustin Poirier faces an uphill battle against Conor McGregor.

Poirier faces McGregor in a lightweight bout that will headline the upcoming UFC 257 pay-per-view event taking place January 23 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

It is notably a rematch of their 2014 featherweight clash that saw McGregor use mind games as well as his superior striking to comfortably knock out Poirier in the first round.

While Poirier has improved tenfold since as he’s become one of the best lightweights in the world, Kavanagh believes the manner of how the first fight went will not be something “The Diamond” can easily get past.

“I think you can spend a lifetime going to sports psychologists and talking to this person and that person; that’s not going to have been erased from his mind,” Kavanagh told TheMacLife (via MMA Junkie). “He knows that he is facing somebody who can shut off his lights very, very rapidly and now is a lot more powerful and a lot more experienced than he was even then, so it’s a tough, uphill battle for Dustin.”

That said, Kavanagh acknowledges Poirier is a better and much more experienced fighter than the first time he collided with McGregor.

However, it’s a different story when considering the knockout power of McGregor.

“I think (Poirier) has definitely gotten better,” Kavanagh said. “There’s a few more takedown attempts now in his fights. I hadn’t seen it before – he has a good guillotine. We can see that. Then his volume and his conditioning is looking on point.

“You can see in his fights he has an ability to take a lot of punishment and still come forward. Pick any of last few fights to see that quality. However, he’s fighting a different animal than any of those guys: somebody with true, one-punch knockout power that he’s already felt.”

Do you agree with Kavanagh?

Conor McGregor Coach Says Poirier Rematch To Happen At 170lbs

Conor McGregorAccording to Conor McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, the rematch against Dustin Poirier will happen at welterweight, not lightweight as originally thought. The news comes from a tweet by the SBG Ireland owner, where he talked about McGregor’s training and casually slipped in that it will be “fascinating” to see how he and Poirier will […]

Conor McGregor

According to Conor McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, the rematch against Dustin Poirier will happen at welterweight, not lightweight as originally thought.

The news comes from a tweet by the SBG Ireland owner, where he talked about McGregor’s training and casually slipped in that it will be “fascinating” to see how he and Poirier will look at 170.

Poirier’s reply to the tweet seems to confirm that the fight will in fact take place at 170 pounds. It will be Poirier’s first time in his career fighting above lightweight.

McGregor and Poirier have both agreed to headline an unnamed pay-per-view event on January 23, but the contracts are still waiting to be signed.

McGregor has made it clear recently that he would rather not go through a weight cut, which is what resulted in his last match against Donald Cerrone also taking place a weight class up. The first matchup against Poirier took place at featherweight in 2014, where both fighters started their UFC careers. That fight marked the last time Poirier would compete at featherweight, while McGregor would of course go on to claim the division’s title, before moving up to lightweight as well.

Despite the rematch taking place in a different division, it is still believed that the winner will be the next contender for the UFC lightweight championship. Current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov defends his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on October 24.

Do you like the rematch taking place at 170? Should the winner be next in line for a lightweight title shot? Let us know!

John Kavanagh Says Fighters Value What Conor McGregor Has Done For MMA

John KavanaghConor Mcgregor’s coach John Kavanagh had a few interesting things to say about what fighters have previously mentioned to him regarding his prized fighter. Kavanagh’s claim came not too long after Dustin Poirier said the loss early in his career to McGregor is the reason for his career resurgence. “That was that start of it.” […]

John Kavanagh

Conor Mcgregor’s coach John Kavanagh had a few interesting things to say about what fighters have previously mentioned to him regarding his prized fighter.

Kavanagh’s claim came not too long after Dustin Poirier said the loss early in his career to McGregor is the reason for his career resurgence.

“That was that start of it.” Poirier acknowledged following his fight of the night victory over Dan Hooker this past weekend.

Coach Kavanagh issued a statement on Twitter with him making an interesting comment about what fighters have said to him

“I’ve had a few UFC fighters pull me aside fight week and say something along the lines of ‘I might not like your boy, but we should all be sending him 5%. He’s changed the game for all of us.’ Be grateful and you’ll receive more to be grateful for.”

It would be foolish to not think McGregor changed the game for a ton of fighters. His rise started with his UFC debut in April 2013 and winning the title in July 2015 with massive payday blackbuster fights with Nate Diaz, Khabib, etc.

So what do you think? Is John Kavanagh genuine when says fighters have told him they owe Conor McGregor 5% of their fight purse?