John Kavanagh News

Josh Evanoff - July 15, 2022

Former UFC dual-weight champion Conor McGregor is looking great in training according to John Kavanagh. ‘The Notorious’ has been out of the cage since his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier last July at UFC 264. That outing saw McGregor lose via TKO, due to a broken leg he suffered in round one. The brutal injury has left the former champion sidelined for over a year.

Christopher Taylor - December 18, 2021

John Kavanagh has reacted to a potential fight between his pupil Conor McGregor and reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Shortly after ‘Do Bronx’ earned his first career title defense with a third round submission victory over McGregor’s arch rival Dustin Poirier, ‘Notorious’ took to social media with the following question.

Christopher Taylor - December 6, 2021

John Kavanagh has named six opponents that his star pupil Conor McGregor could fight in his highly anticipated UFC return. McGregor (22-6 MMA) has not competed since suffering a broken leg during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier this past July. That setback marked the Irishman’s second loss in a row and third in his past four fights overall.

Adam D Martin - November 25, 2021

MMA coach John Kavanagh joked that his pupil Conor McGregor has “got a hundred opponents lined up” for his upcoming UFC return in 2022. McGregor is coming off of back-to-back TKO losses to Dustin Poirier earlier this year, the second of which saw the Irishman suffer a nasty broken leg in his defeat. The hope is that McGregor will continue to make progress in his recovery from the broken leg and then return to fighting in 2022. When he does eventually step back into the Octagon, then his coach at SBG Ireland, Kavanagh, believes there will be no shortage of potential opponents.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2021

Dillon Danis and John Kavanagh, two of the most important people in Conor McGregor’s inner circle, have reacted to his loss to Dustin Poirier. McGregor met Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 on Fight Island last Saturday. The pair’s lightweight showdown was a rematch of a 2014 fight that McGregor won by first-round knockout. This time around, Poirier evened the score, ruining McGregor’s lead leg with calf kicks, and stopping him with punches in round two.

Adam Martin - December 27, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh wants the MMA community to remember that Dustin Poirier has already felt Conor McGregor’s knockout power in the past. McGregor and Poirier meet for the second time next month at UFC 257 on UFC Fight Island. The first time these two fought was back in September 2014 at UFC 178. That fight was almost seven years ago and it was down at featherweight. Both men are different fighters now and both are now fighting up at lightweight. It’s why some analysts believe that Poirier has a much better chance to win the rematch this time.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Famed MMA coach John Kavanagh has some choice words for boxing star Claressa Shields, who recently told MMA fans to “bow down” to her. Shields is widely regarded as the best female boxer in the world, and is slated to make her MMA debut in the PFL cage in 2021. Ahead of her debut, Shields is demanding respect from MMA fans for being bold enough to make the transition between sports.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

Renowned mixed martial arts coach John Kavanagh was not impressed with Snoop Dogg’s commentary during last weekend’s Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight. Tyson and Jones, 54 and 51 respectively, collided in an eight-round heavyweight exhibition fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Despite the age of the two men, the event generated massive international interest, with many stars of the combat sports world tuning in—Kavanagh included.

Fernando Quiles - June 29, 2020

Head coach John Kavanagh claims Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje was close to materializing. Gaethje has been on a tear since dropping back-to-back bouts against Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez. “The Highlight” is riding a four-fight winning streak. In that span, he’s beaten Tony Ferguson, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick.

Natasha Hooper - June 16, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh has revealed the first thing he looks for in a potential fighter, and his answer may surprise you. The Irish mixed martial arts coach rose to fame following the success of his student, Conor McGregor. Kavanagh was instrumental in McGregor’s wins and eventual championship reigns. He is also the coach for other MMA stars like James Gallagher, Gunnar Nelson and Makwan Amirkhani.

Adam Martin - April 10, 2020

MMA coach John Kavanagh is interested in seeing the UFC hold a tournament for the lightweight title upon resumption if its fight schedule. All upcoming UFC events are postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The UFC interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, which was set to take place at UFC 249, was one of the fights affected by the postponements. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, two of the UFC’s biggest stars, also won’t be fighting anytime soon on account of the UFC schedule currently being on hiatus.

Adam Martin - April 3, 2020

MMA coach John Kavanagh gave some advice to top lightweight contender Tony Ferguson, who is currently awaiting a new opponent for UFC 249. Ferguson was set to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249, but Nurmagomedov will no longer be able to compete at the event due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions in Russia and the U.S. That leaves Ferguson without an opponent, though the UFC has reportedly offered him a short-notice fight against Justin Gaethje to save the card.

Natasha Hooper - February 19, 2020

Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh acknowledges major mistakes made by his fighter, but says he is “proud of how he’s come through those things.” “The Notorious” returned to the UFC Octagon this year for the first time since his UFC 229 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He faced Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in his comeback and bulldozed his way to victory in just 40 seconds of the first round.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020

Conor McGregor has had a crazy few years. While he’s had some big moments of success — most notably his 40-second, January knockout of Donald Cerrone — he’s also made his way into the headlines for numerous brushes with the law.

Adam D Martin - February 9, 2020

Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh said on his social media that he felt Jon Jones clearly deserved to win the decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. In one of the most controversial title fight decisions in recent years, Jones edged out a narrow unanimous decision victory by scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. It was an extremely close fight that was fought tooth-and-nail by two of the best light heavyweights in the world, but most including UFC president Dana White seemed to side with Reyes earning the decision. The judges, however, awarded Jones the win, something which Kavanagh agrees with.

Cole Shelton - January 21, 2020

Conor McGregor has options for who he fights next, but according to his coach, John Kavanagh, he wants it to be against Justin Gaethje. In the main event of UFC 246, McGregor made his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon against Donald Cerrone at welterweight. There, the Irishman made quick work of “Cowboy” as he knocked him out in 40 seconds.

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020

John Kavanagh believes Justin Gaethje is a good stylistic matchup for Conor McGregor. The Irishman in Conor McGregor has been open about 2020 being a season and it begins with Donald Cerrone. After that, he has mentioned possible opponents like Jorge Masvidal and Justin Gaethje who is on his “list.”

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh and the other staff at the famed SBG Ireland gym in Dublin, Ireland, have been letting Conor McGregor lead his own training camp for Donald Cerrone. Kavanagh explained the dynamic in the gym during a recent interview with The Mac Life.