For the first time in his professional career, Conor McGregor is coming off back-to-back losses. And if he decides to step into the Octagon once more, he may have to do so without long-time coach John Kavanagh.
McGregor suffered a TKO loss in his boxing debut to Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 before returning to familiar territory in the UFC and getting submitted by ruthless lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October.
In an interview with Independent.ie, Kavanagh questioned if McGregor would ever fight again, at 30 years old with two kids and a whiskey company that’s bringing in plenty of cash. He discussed how he tried to talk McGregor into retirement after he defeated Eddie Alvarez in Madison Square Garden in 2016 and how the then-champ looked at him in shock at his suggestion.
Kavanagh is ready to help McGregor close the open chapters in his career, naming Nate Diaz or another showdown with Nurmagomedov as options he could be talked into. If it’s just for the thrill of climbing the mountain back to the top, Kavanagh for his part, sounds like he has no interest in that route.
“Well, he would certainly have to convince me to go again,” Kavanagh said.
“Yeah, I love him. I love the whole journey we’ve had but I’d need a good ‘why’. It might be Diaz again because he promised that fight. It might be a rematch with Khabib. But if it was just: ‘Well, they want me to fight that guy’ I think I’d say, ‘I wish you the best.'”
When it comes down to why Kavanagh is resistant to coach McGregor yet again it’s his basic view of the former two weight class champion.
“He has a wife and two kids now and I don’t want him taking more hits than he needs to,” he said. “Khabib hit him with a punch in that fight that he has never been hit with in his career. And even Superman slows down at some stage.”
McGregor is currently awaiting the NSAC’s ruling on his part in the melee following his UFC 229 showdown with Nurmagomedov before he can be booked for another fight. He has, for his part, already requested a rematch with the lightweight king.
