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Conor McGregor’s Coach Admits He’s Unsure If McGregor Will Return To 145-Pound Division

While reigning UFC 145-pound champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor prepares for his 170-pound rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August, the 145-pound division will crown an interim champion, as former champion Jose Aldo takes on Frankie Edgar i…

Ahead of both pairs of fights, McGregor’s SBG Ireland coach John Kavanagh spoke with Jonathan Shrager of MMA Underground (via Jonathan Bradley of FOX Sports) about whether or not he sees McGregor returning to the UFC’s 145-pound division after his fight with Diaz in August.

“The short answer is I don’t know,” Kavanagh said. “I’m very intrigued to see the Aldo and Edgar fight.”

Kavanagh continued, “I hope Aldo is fully recovered from the bad knockout. I thought (Chad) Mendes went back in there really quick after the knockout against Conor. People don’t realize the damage it does — it takes a long time to recover, and I think Mendes went down quicker in that fight because of that. Maybe if he’d let himself rest a bit more he might have had more fight for Edgar.”

As Kavanagh continued, he explained that he hopes to see the best of both Aldo and Edgar at UFC 200, before acknowledging that rising contender Max Holloway is also in the mix.

“I hope that’s not the case for Aldo, (I hope) we get to see a solid version of Aldo and a new kind of improved Edgar, and see what different from the first fight. So yea, let’s see that, and assess after the rematch. It’s kind of those two names and (Max) Holloway kind of in the mix, so it’s an interesting time.”

H/T: BloodyElbow.com

Conor McGregor’s Coach Reacts To Chad Mendes’ USADA Violation

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and No. 4-ranked Chad Mendes put on a hell of a main event back at UFC 189, that saw the Irish phenom down ‘Money’ in the closing moments of the second round to secure the interim 145-pound title. Since then Mendes has been on a downward spiral as he was

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Since then Mendes has been on a downward spiral as he was viciously knocked out by No. 2-ranked Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale (TUF 22 Finale), and now his recent troubles with the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA).

The UFC released an official statement Friday afternoon, stating that Mendes had been flagged for a potential doping violation after an out-of competition USADA drug test.

Now amongst the two-time title challenger’s highly publicized issues, 145-pound champion McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh has taken to Twitter to react to Mendes’ potential violation:

Dun dun dun….another one bites the dust #CleanSport ????????

— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) June 11, 2016

Kavanagh and his Straight Blast Gym (SBG) star-pupil McGregor are currently preparing for their upcoming rematch bout, against Stockton native Nate Diaz at UFC 202 this upcoming August.

Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC loss back at UFC 196 in March, choking out the brash Irishman in the second round of their headliner bout. Now McGregor will get his opportunity to run it back again, as he looks to avenge his first loss in nearly six years.

Kavanagh is also set to release his autobiography this summer, as the SBG head coach has signed a deal with Penguin to take over the publishing of his book.

While further news is currently being awaited on Mendes’ status, McGregor and Diaz are set to throw down in the main event of UFC 202 on pay-per-view (PPV), live from the T-Mobile Arena on August 20, 2016.

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Coach Reveals Full Story Of Nate Diaz UFC 199 Brawl

Another crazy brawl featuring a Diaz brother… A star was born at UFC 196, or perhaps you could call it finally recognized, as Nate Diaz pounded and choked Conor McGregor out of their headline tilt. Diaz accepted the fight on just 11 days notice, replacing lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and defeating ‘The Notorious’ in

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Another crazy brawl featuring a Diaz brother…

A star was born at UFC 196, or perhaps you could call it finally recognized, as Nate Diaz pounded and choked Conor McGregor out of their headline tilt. Diaz accepted the fight on just 11 days notice, replacing lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and defeating ‘The Notorious’ in a 170-pound thriller. Not only had the younger of the infamous Diaz duo been fighting top 10 competition for years, including former and future champions, but he’d had a finish rate of 11 from 14 victories.

Nate and Nick have also been consistently in the headlines, and quite often for controversial brawls and backstage scuffles. Dating back to the KJ Noons melee in Elite XC, where the classic line ‘Don’t be scared homie’ was born, to the Strikeforce Nashville brawl with Jake Shields, and then of course the Khabib Nurmagomedov crowd fight during the WSOF 22 show, the Diaz bros were all there in the thick of it.

Add in their long history of trash talk, anti-BS realism and never back down style, and you have a recipe for success that could easily have come to fruition years earlier. The difference between now, as both Diaz brothers are experiencing super stardom, and when they were somewhat under the radar, is that there’s a lot more at risk by getting in unsanctioned street fights and brawls.

That’s why it was particularly interesting to hear rumours of a brawl in the tunnels at UFC 199 this past Saturday June 4. The Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold headlined event went off with a bang, and seemed to be the catalyst for a number of crazy events, including the reported brawl between Clay Guida’s team and Nate Diaz.

Guida, nicknamed ‘The Carpenter,’ had fought against undefeated prospect Brian Ortega in a featherweight feature prelim bout. It was a bad night for Guida, who suffered a brutal third round knockout loss to Ortega, sending him to two straight losses and raising questions about how many fights he may have left in the tank.

It was at this point that things really got heated, as an eye witness account reveals exactly what happened backstage at UFC 199.

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John Kavanagh Intrigued By Potential McGregor-Edgar Bout

Conor McGregor is slated to rematch Nate Diaz, who submitted him last March, in the main event of August’s UFC 202 in a welterweight bout, once again putting the featherweight division on hold by opting not to defend his title. There has been speculation that McGregor may never return to 145-pounds, and his long-time head

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There has been speculation that McGregor may never return to 145-pounds, and his long-time head coach John Kavanagh isn’t sure either, although he would like to see McGregor defend the strap against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar:

“The short answer is I don’t know,” Kavanagh told Jonathan Shrager of the MMAUnderground when asked about McGregor’s return to 145. “I’m very intrigued to see the Aldo and Edgar fight.”

Edgar will face off with Aldo for the second time at UFC 200 next month with the interim featherweight strap hanging in the balance. Aldo is coming off of a brutal 13 second knockout loss to McGregor last December, and Kavanagh hopes he took the time to recover properly:

“I hope Aldo is fully recovered from the bad knockout. I thought (Chad) Mendes went back in there really quick after the knockout against Conor,” Kavanagh said. “People don’t realize the damage it does — it takes a long time to recover, and I think Mendes went down quicker in that fight because of that. Maybe if he’d let himself rest a bit more he might have had more fight for Edgar. I hope that’s not the case for Aldo, (I hope) we get to see a solid version of Aldo and a new kind of improved Edgar, and see what different from the first fight. So yea, let’s see that, and assess after the rematch. It’s kind of those two names and (Max) Holloway kind of in the mix, so it’s an interesting time.”

Holloway is indeed another name in the title discussion, as he’s won a division best nine straight since dropping a decision loss to the “Notorious” one in 2013. Kavanagh thinks quite highly of “Blessed”, and a rematch between him and McGregor is another possibility for the future if the Irishman indeed drops back down to featherweight:

“I thought Holloway looked fantastic the other night [at UFC 199]. I’ve said it ever since Conor fought Max, I had him as the second best 145er in the division,” Kavanagh said. “I think he’s the best of them all. That’s just my own personal opinion. And he looked very, very good against Lamas — I was actually surprised he didn’t stop him, but Lamas is a tough guy, so, it went the distance. Holloway really stood out in that fight for me.”

After his rematch with Diaz, what do you see the lying ahead for McGregor?

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Goldberg Gives His Opinion On Conor McGregor

The post Goldberg Gives His Opinion On Conor McGregor appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Mixed martial arts has evolved so much in the last 20 years, going from a sordid pleasure to a mainstream attraction in a relatively short time. It seems like just yesterday that bar brawlers who could knock a guy out were the biggest draws, names like Tank Abbott of the UFC old school spring to mind on that topic. Now we see a much more polished product, with the market leader the Ultimate Fighting Championship constantly carving a new era in the sport.

Of course the one punch knockout artist is still one of the biggest attractions for the casual fan, but what we see in terms of skill and training in the modern UFC athlete far exceeds the limitations of the men who’s blood and sweat make the foundations of modern MMA. One man who’s followed the sport keenly is WWE legend Bill Goldberg, who talks about owning one of the biggest MMA gyms in the 1990’s, and discusses the evolution of mixed martial arts with The Ringer.

“I was a huge fan of the UFC, and of mixed martial arts, back in its embryonic state, when the Gary Goodridges, and the Don Fryes, and the Tank Abbotts were getting paid 100 bucks to smash people’s face for entertainment. I owned the largest MMA gym in the country back in the late ’90s.”

“They used to train?—?whether it was [Randy] Couture, or Frye, or Kevin Randleman?—?they used to train at my place. I had a love affair with the martial arts and it very much interests me, and I thought the combination of a guy that weighed 290 that could do a backflip and do these submission moves would succeed. I knew that the UFC and that mixed martial arts in general was going to prosper”

“I was at Jared Allen’s Night-Ops golf tournament, benefiting the military, and Ryan Bader was there two days ago. And Bader came up and asked to pick me up, asked me to pick him up; it’s a completely different relationship. All those guys wanna be us. All the fighters wanna be in professional wrestling, I don’t care what they say. There’s a huge parallel in it and they [the MMA fighters] very much appreciate those guys [the pro wrestlers] and conversely we very much appreciate what they do.”

Of course where this translates in to current events is the UFC’s growing relationship with the WWE. With Brock Lesnar, the most successful pro wrestling to MMA crossover set to make his return at UFC 200, fighters Paige VaZant and Ronda Rousey are rumoured for a Summerslam and Wrestlemania exchange. The worlds of wrestling entertainment and mixed martial arts have never been closer than now.

But Goldberg, even though one of the most well known faces in the outlandish and brash world of pro wresting, is not a fan of Conor McGregor’s style.

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Conor McGregor Appears On Forbes’ Highest Paid Athletes List

Reigning UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor has never been afraid to talk about his money, and he clearly makes quite a bit of it. In fact, the Irish knockout artist recently earned a spot on Forbes 100 Highest Paid Athletes list for 2016. McGregor was the only mixed martial artist to appear on

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Reigning UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor has never been afraid to talk about his money, and he clearly makes quite a bit of it.

In fact, the Irish knockout artist recently earned a spot on Forbes 100 Highest Paid Athletes list for 2016. McGregor was the only mixed martial artist to appear on the prestigious list, coming in at No. 85 with an estimated amount of $22 million dollars taken in.

Check out a breakdown of McGregor’s massive earnings over the last year below (Via MMAMania.com):

“UFC star Conor McGregor fought three times over the past 12 months, including headlining two of the three best-selling UFC fights ever on pay-per-view. UFC 194 where McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds had 1.2 million buys. McGregor lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 (their rematch will be at UFC 202 in August) which sold a massive 1.5 million units. His cut of PPV revenue pushed McGregor’s earnings in the Octagon to $18 million. The Irishman also banked an estimated $4 million outside the Octagon through appearances and endorsement partners Reebok, Fanatics, Monster Energy, BSN, Bud Light, Rolls Royce and Electronic Arts.”

McGregor will indeed look to avenge the only loss of his Octagon career when he meets Nate Diaz in their highly-anticipated welterweight rematch in the main event of August’s UFC 202 from The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Will the Irishman be able to make up for his submission loss against Diaz last March, or will he suffer another disappointing setback?

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