Conor McGregor’s coach confirms he was gassed after round 1

At UFC 196 fight fans witnessed Conor McGregor suffer the first loss of his UFC career at the hands of Nate Diaz. Following the fight, McGregor chalked the loss up to an inefficient use of energy, which resulted in him gassing early on in the fight.

It’s no secret that McGregor packed on quite a bit of muscle ahead of the fight, which resulted in many questioning whether or not he would be as quick. With Rafael dos Anjos withdrawing from their UFC 196 lightweight title fight, McGregor ended up moving up to welterweight, an extra 15 pounds higher than the lightweight limit of 155 pounds.

McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh spoke on The MMA Hour, where he revealed that McGregor was gassed after the first round. When asked if at any point he felt as though McGregor was in trouble, Kavanagh responded with:

“I think there was a good left cross, and it kind of stumbled Conor back. Probably looked like it wobbled him, but I think it was kind of exhaustion at this stage, he looked really really tired. He kind of had a bit of a slugfest, a bit of a back and forth. At that stage it was clear that he was very very tired, and if there’s one thing you’re never going to say about a Diaz brother it’s that he gets tired. He just has that incredible ability just to keep going, and keep pushing himself, and they’re phenomenal athletes.”

“When I saw that tiredness, and him being pushed back, of course that’s when you worry.”