Tag: Khabib

McGregor’s Coach: Khabib Is ‘The Boogeyman’ At All Divisions

John Kavanagh is doing everything in his power to make sure Conor McGregor shows up to UFC 229 rust-free.

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It’s been almost two years since Conor McGregor has fought inside the UFC’s Octagon.

Back in November 2016, McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound championship. That was the last time we saw the Irishman in the cage. The MMA megastar decided to take some time off and participated in a big-money exhibition boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

Now, with a new champion at lightweight, McGregor is itching to get back to the top of the UFC world. He’ll fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 next month in Las Vegas. “The Eagle” is a dominant 155-pound champion that has yet to lose in his fighting career.

It’s quite a difficult thing for McGregor to return to after two years on the sidelines. In that regard, McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, recently said in an interview with The MacLife that he’s providing a training camp that is attempting to prevent the dreaded “ring rust”:

“I think it’s how you approach training – I think if your gym environment and how you compete in the gym is very separate from how you compete – then for sure there will be ring rust,” Kavanagh said.

“But if you’re regularly putting yourself in stressful types of sparring situation, which is the best we can get in the gym environment, it more resembles competition then. So, Conor – specific for this training camp we have had a lot of very intense training sessions, sparring sessions – and it’s done in the environment he’s going to compete in.

“We have spectators for a lot of the spars – so we’re trying to make the training environment mimic as close to the competition environment so there isn’t as much as a disconnect between the two of them.”

The Undefeated Champion

Kavanagh also talked about the appeal of handing “The Eagle” his first career defeat.

Nurmagomedov is the only undefeated champion in the UFC at the moment. For the McGregor camp to take that away would be a major feather in their cap:

“Absolutely. I think it’s no mystery to say that Khabib is the boogeyman at all divisions at the moment. There isn’t another unbeaten champion that I can think of. And just that constant, aggressive wrestling style – for anyone that’s tough to face. So to actually beat that guy, the guy that everybody is saying is unbeatable, it’d be a huge feather in the cap to do that.”

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Khabib Implies He’d Retire With Win Over Georges St-Pierre

Many people expect the UFC 229 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor to break PPV records, including Dana White, who expects the event to deliver over 2 million buys. There is no question that Conor McGregor, unquestionably the bigg…

Many people expect the UFC 229 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor to break PPV records, including Dana White, who expects the event to deliver over 2 million buys. There is no question that Conor McGregor, unquestionably the biggest star in the sport, is the main draw for the event and will receive […]

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Al Iaquinta: I Hope Khabib F**king Knocks Conor Out

Al Iaquinta is one of the victims of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has stepped inside the cage with The Eagle and lived (and was willing) to talk about it. Iaquinta knows all too well what it’s like to be in there with the undefeated Nurmagomedov, and he do…

Al Iaquinta is one of the victims of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has stepped inside the cage with The Eagle and lived (and was willing) to talk about it. Iaquinta knows all too well what it’s like to be in there with the undefeated Nurmagomedov, and he doesn’t see things going much smoother for one Conor […]

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Kevin Lee Provides In-Depth Prediction to Khabib vs. Conor

Stopping by MMA SiriusXM on MMAJunkie radio, Kevin Lee provided an in-depth breakdown the blockbuster Khabib/McGregor UFC 229 bout as a spectator and an analysis. In doing so, Lee concluded that things will most likely not go the way of the Eagle come …

Stopping by MMA SiriusXM on MMAJunkie radio, Kevin Lee provided an in-depth breakdown the blockbuster Khabib/McGregor UFC 229 bout as a spectator and an analysis. In doing so, Lee concluded that things will most likely not go the way of the Eagle come October 6th. “I’m just looking at that matchup and how their styles […]

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Max Holloway Finally Responds To UFC 226 Health Scare

Max Holloway broke his silence on his frightening UFC 226 health issues:

The post Max Holloway Finally Responds To UFC 226 Health Scare appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

This weekend’s (Sat., July 7, 2018) UFC 226 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, took a huge hit earlier this week when featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced out of his co-main event with Brian Ortega.

Exhibiting concussion-like symptoms, “Blessed” was admitted to the emergency room at a Las Vegas hospital earlier this week, and UFC President Dana White revealed that the beleaguered 145-pound champion wouldn’t be fighting anytime soon after undergoing an extensive series of testing.

Some think Holloway’s repeated weight cutting, which he’s done three times over the first half of this year but ultimately hasn’t fought once, is the culprit, while others suggest that the concussion symptoms publicly called out by Michael Bisping are the cause for alarm for Holloway. No one is quite sure what’s really going on, however, and the MMA world will have to wait and see what transpires for one of the UFC’s most talented young champions.

For now, “Blessed” himself has responded to the disappointing news on his Instagram account, giving respect to Ortega and thanking White & co. for getting him the help he needs. With that established, Holloway urged fans not to let the bad moments of the fight game outshine the many good moments:

It was what it was. Respect to Ortega and his team. Thank you @danawhite and the @UFC staff for making my health priority. Also thank you to @lilheathenmma and @frankieedgar for being about that champ life and stepping up. I see you.

To all the fans I know this rollercoaster can be frustrating because my team is also on it with you. All I can say is I’m truly sorry and I hope you guys stay buckled in because it is far from being over. Don’t let the bad surprises distract you from the good surprises in this great sport. The best is still blessed #blessyourself

Holloway then went on to thank the fellow fighters who offered him support during this time, first acknowledging lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whom he was supposed to meet on short notice at April’s UFC 223 but was deemed medically unfit to continue cutting weight:

Holloway also thanked former two-division champ Conor McGregor for his words of encouragement:

Finally, Holloway thanked recently retired former middleweight champion Michael Bisping for calling out on his symptoms during an interview on UFC Tonight earlier this week, something that made his condition public and forced it to come to light.

Despite initially claiming to be fine, Holloway admitted he was ultimately thankful for that:

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Watch: Conor McGregor Buys Lavish New Vacation Home

Conor McGregor is spending some of that Floyd Mayweather money:

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Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor may be out of action as he awaits a June 14 court date on assault charges, but he’s still living it up in Europe.

The ultra-popular, ultra-polarizing MMA star recently purchased a $1.5 million custom villa in Spain, no doubt a byproduct of his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last year. Although the Irishman lost via 10th-round TKO, he also banked a rumored $100 million when it was all said and done.

That allows you to buy things like the brand-new villa, which includes luxuries such as a gym, a spa, and even a LED-lit driveway. He may not be fighting – and his return is anything but uncertain as he deals with his arrest and his contract dispute with the UFC – but McGregor is no doubt living the high life.

Check out his all-new villa courtesy of NESN right here:

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