John Kavanagh News

Mike Pendleton - June 3, 2019

It’s getting harder and harder to deny the legitimacy of the Drake Curse. When Drake meets an athlete, it seems like that athlete almost always loses immediately thereafter. One MMA coach is taking action to ensure his fighters go unaffected by the rapper’s witchcraft. After a photo of Drake and former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua surfaced online, John Kavanagh, head coach of SBG Ireland and Conor McGregor, sent out a pretty fair warning to the artist.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019

Conor McGregor doesn’t currently have a fight booked, but if the former two-division UFC champ decides to return to the Octagon, his long-time coach John Kavanagh will coach and corner him. The other long-term members of McGregor’s inner circle will also apparently be there to pitch in. “I don’t think [me cornering Conor] is in doubt,” Kavanagh told the Irish Mirror of a McGregor comeback. “I’m sure I’ll be there, we talk almost daily.

Chris Taylor - April 13, 2019

John Kavanagh recently made a guest appearance on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, where he discussed the future of UFC star Conor McGregor. Kavanagh claimed that this past weekend was the first time he had seen Conor McGregor in months. The SBG head coach went on to say that he plans to meet with his star pupil later next week to discuss his next move.

Christopher Taylor - March 30, 2019

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor shocked the mixed martial arts community earlier this week when he unexpectedly announced his retirement from MMA. The 30-year-old Irish superstar took to Twitter where he issued the following statement.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event, he leapt over the side of the Octagon and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis. McGregor then attempted to chase Nurmagomedov, but was intercepted by a pair of the Russian champion’s training partners, including one who punched him in the back of the head from behind. In the wake of this event, McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh has stated that he doesn’t fault Khabib Nurmagomedov for losing his tempter and attacking Danis. That being said, Kavanagh recently divulged that he considers the actions of the fighters who attacked McGregor in the Octagon to be absolutely reprehensible.

Tom Taylor - October 28, 2018

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC Moncton, SBG Ireland staple and Conor McGregor training partner Artem Lobov came up short against former lightweight contender Michael Johnson. Johnson took the bout on short notice, replacing Lobov’s original opponent Zubaira Tukhugov, and missed weight for the bout. With this loss, Artem Lobov fell onto a three-fight skid. His overall record, meanwhile, now sits at 13-15-1. Given these less-than-stellar stats, some fans feel that Lobov has only been kept around by the UFC due to his closeness with Conor McGregor.

Tom Taylor - October 23, 2018

On Monday night, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor released an honest and astute assessment of his UFC 229 submission loss to undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpQwHF4g3re/

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018

Conor McGregor was not able to reclaim the UFC lightweight title from his arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although McGregor had some success in his UFC 229 mega fight with Nurmagomedov, he just couldn’t keep up with his destructive foe. His head coach John Kavanagh believes that might have something to do with his lengthy absence from MMA competition.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 229, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor returned to the Octagon after two long years away, as he attempted to reclaim the UFC lightweight belt from undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately for McGregor and his dedicated team, this mission didn’t go as planned. Instead, the Irish MMA star was soundly walloped en route to a fourth-round submission loss. Although he was able to steal a round from Nurmagomedov — something nobody has been able to do in a long time — it was not enough, and he’ll now have to return to the drawing board.

Thomas Taylor - October 8, 2018

On Saturday night, in the main event of the massive UFC 229 card, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his title with a fourth-round submission win over former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. Unfortunately, however, that’s not where the violence ended. Moments after the fight came to a close, Khabib Nurmagomedov vaulted out of the cage and attacked Conor McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, which sparked a massive brawl between his and McGregor’s teams. The chaos swirled inside and outside of the cage, and it was several minutes before it was completely under control.

Chris Taylor - October 6, 2018

Tonight’s highly anticipated UFC 229 main event between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov left fight fans with a bitter taste in their mouths. The fight itself was highly entertaining. Khabib used his strong wrestling to take advantage early in the fight, but Conor McGregor was able to claw back in round three.

Tom Taylor - September 20, 2018

At 26-0, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has never lost a fight. On October 6, in the main event of UFC 229, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will attempt to change that. In the opinion of Conor McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh, defeating Khabib Nurmagomedov could begin with winning a single round. Nurmagomedov faces adversity so infrequently that the Irish MMA coach isn’t sure the Russian knows how to cope with it.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

If Conor McGregor fights again — which is starting to sound more and more likely — it will probably be against reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. While McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh is all for this fight, he says he’d prefer to see McGregor engage in a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz first. “Nate Diaz is my favourite fight, by the way,” Kavanagh said in a Friday sit-down with MMA analyst Robin Black (transcribed Jim Edwards for MMANytt). “If I could pick a fight for the next one it would be that trilogy. I realise it’s not the fan favourite.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor’s head coach at SBG Ireland, is very confident the Irish superstar will return to the UFC’s Octagon this year — and most likely to a battle with new UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Kavanagh shared his confidence in a possible Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor fight during a conversation with Robin Black in Dublin.

Tom Taylor - February 26, 2018

Last week, MMAFighting reported that the UFC is plotting a return to the MMA mecca of Dublin, Ireland on May 27. Early on Monday morning, SBG head coach John Kavanagh ran a poll on Twitter, asking fans how they’d feel about a potential Dublin main event pitting his student Gunnar Nelson against surging British contender Darren Till. If UFC were coming to Dublin late May 😉😉😉 how would you the fans feel about a Gunni v Till main event?

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2018

For weeks, there’s been mystery surrounding the main event of the UFC’s April 17 stop in London, England. Originally, the idea seemed to be that the retiring Michael Bisping would fight the last fight of his career in the main event. With Bisping now hesitating on fighting again at all, however, it appears the UFC is going a different direction. According to SBG head coach John Kavanagh, Icelandic welterweight Gunnar Nelson has been offered a scrap with surging British contender Darren Till, in a bout that has been targeted as the UFC London headliner. Per Kavanagh’s Tweet, he and Nelson are just waiting on Till and his team to accept the deal.

Tom Taylor - September 6, 2017

Now that Conor McGregor‘s blockbuster boxing match with Floyd Mayweather is in the rear-view, the big question on everyone’s mind is: what’s next for the Irish MMA superstar? In an article published exclusively on The42.ie, McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh gave his take on just that. “I’ve said for a long time that the Nate Diaz trilogy fight at lightweight is what I’d personally like to see next,” Kavanagh wrote in his article on The42.ie. “That still needs to be put to bed.

Russell Ess - August 22, 2017

Take it as you may, but whether you like it or not, this isn’t the first time Conor McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh has mentioned something about a “push” on social media. On Monday, Kavanagh posted a photo of himself with his back on the canvas wearing boxing gloves as “The Notorious” stood above looking down on the pioneer that helped put Irish MMA on the map.