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If Conor McGregor is planning a comeback that would be news to his head coach.
John Kavanagh, who has worked with Irish superstar before and during his run in the UFC, says as far as he’s concerned McGregor is abiding by his recent declaration that he’s retired from fighting with no plans to return.
McGregor made the surprise announcement in early June just after UFC 250 came to an end and then later explaining that no fights being offered really interested him enough to compete again.
Since that time, the former two-division UFC champion has stayed relatively quiet with no word on potentially returning to action.
“Is Conor retired? Yes, he is as far as I can tell,” Kavanagh said during a recent Instagram Live Q&A. “That’s what he said isn’t it?”
Because McGregor has twice previously announced his intention to call it a career, this latest retirement has been met with plenty of skepticism that he’s actually hanging up his gloves for good.
Of course, McGregor certainly has the financial means to retire now but he could have called it a career after facing Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match back in 2017 where he reportedly earned around $100 million.
Perhaps his competitive spirit will eventually force him back to fighting but Kavanagh says there’s nothing he could do to convince McGregor to change his mind if he’s actually committed to retirement.
“I can’t convince Conor to do *****,” Kavanagh said with a laugh. “Conor will tell Conor what he’s gonna do.
“And who knows what’s going to happen in the future. But as for now, he’s retired.”
Prior to his announcement, McGregor had teased an eventual move to welterweight where he hoped to pursue his third UFC title after previously holding championships at both 145 and 155 pounds.
While McGregor has competed at 170 pounds in three previous UFC bouts, he’s yet to face a legitimate top-five ranked opponent much less the undisputed champion in Kamaru Usman.
If McGregor really stays retired this time, he’ll never get the chance to prove he could have been a three-division champion but his head coach liked how he matched up with just about anybody at the top of the welterweight division.
“That would be an interesting one,” Kavanagh said when asked about the Usman fight. “A fair size difference in there. Look I’ll be honest, anybody up to or around about his weight class, if there is a very motivated Conor, I think he beats any of them.
“He has knockout power. He easily has knockout power up to that weight class, and if he was to put in a serious training camp, I think he wins.”
John Kavanagh, who has worked with Irish superstar before and during his run in the UFC, says as far as he’s concerned McGregor is abiding by his recent declaration that he’s retired from fighting with no plans to return.
McGregor made the surprise announcement in early June just after UFC 250 came to an end and then later explaining that no fights being offered really interested him enough to compete again.
Since that time, the former two-division UFC champion has stayed relatively quiet with no word on potentially returning to action.
“Is Conor retired? Yes, he is as far as I can tell,” Kavanagh said during a recent Instagram Live Q&A. “That’s what he said isn’t it?”
Because McGregor has twice previously announced his intention to call it a career, this latest retirement has been met with plenty of skepticism that he’s actually hanging up his gloves for good.
Of course, McGregor certainly has the financial means to retire now but he could have called it a career after facing Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match back in 2017 where he reportedly earned around $100 million.
Perhaps his competitive spirit will eventually force him back to fighting but Kavanagh says there’s nothing he could do to convince McGregor to change his mind if he’s actually committed to retirement.
“I can’t convince Conor to do *****,” Kavanagh said with a laugh. “Conor will tell Conor what he’s gonna do.
“And who knows what’s going to happen in the future. But as for now, he’s retired.”
Prior to his announcement, McGregor had teased an eventual move to welterweight where he hoped to pursue his third UFC title after previously holding championships at both 145 and 155 pounds.
While McGregor has competed at 170 pounds in three previous UFC bouts, he’s yet to face a legitimate top-five ranked opponent much less the undisputed champion in Kamaru Usman.
If McGregor really stays retired this time, he’ll never get the chance to prove he could have been a three-division champion but his head coach liked how he matched up with just about anybody at the top of the welterweight division.
“That would be an interesting one,” Kavanagh said when asked about the Usman fight. “A fair size difference in there. Look I’ll be honest, anybody up to or around about his weight class, if there is a very motivated Conor, I think he beats any of them.
“He has knockout power. He easily has knockout power up to that weight class, and if he was to put in a serious training camp, I think he wins.”
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