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John Kavanagh

John Kavanagh116 posts

John Kavanagh is an Irish mixed martial arts coach. He is best known for coaching Conor McGregor.

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22 Jun, 2017

Kavanagh: ‘We’re looking forward to shocking the world’

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In an article for The42, Coach Kavanagh gives his thoughts on the McGregor-Mayweather fight.

On one of my first trips to Las Vegas with Conor McGregor, probably back in 2014, I recall him mentioning the possibility of a fight against Floyd Mayweather. I stopped doubting him a long time ago at this stage, but I remember at the time laughing it off as nothing more than a novel idea that could never possibly become a reality. Now here we are and it’s just over nine weeks away…We’re in the midst of three good weeks of training here in Ireland, before departing for Las Vegas in mid-July. I believe there will be quite a large media world tour squeezed in there as well.

He talks about the mural:

I wanted to put something suitable on the wall because Conor is a big believer in visualisation and manifesting what you can conceive into reality. That’s the shot we believe will win the fight for Conor and it’s now there for us to see whenever we train.

On strategy:

Mayweather has been in the boxing world for his entire career and everyone he’s faced has moved in a certain way that he’s pre-conditioned to handle. Now he’s going up against a guy who doesn’t follow any set patterns, who can deploy a variety of different styles of fighting and is not one bit intimidated. Conor is — as we all are here — 100% confident in victory. That kind of person is very difficult to deal with…We’re not going over to Las Vegas to make up the numbers on 26 August. When this contest takes place, we’ll be 100% ready — physically and mentally — and nothing other than victory will be acceptable. We’re looking forward to shocking the world — again.

21 Jun, 2017

SBG Gym founder: McGregor has the advantage over Mayweather

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Thornton, who founded SBG Gym in 1992 and who trained Kavanagh, talks about Kavanagh’s influence on the gym, and about his influence on McGregor.

Conor has the advantage as the underdog. It’s a role he occupies well. He has the advantage as the much younger man. Conor has the advantage as the underdog. It’s a role he occupies well. He has the advantage as the much younger man. He has the advantage as a southpaw, something that’s troubled Mayweather before. He has the advantage in that, coming from an MMA background he may bring some tactics and strategies Mayweather is unfamiliar with. And above all else, he has the advantage in that he has a coach named John Kavanagh in his corner. Everything John’s done has been good for everyone in SBG. It’s a loyal tribe, and he’s an impressive general.

Kavanagh, Roddy and Lobov will be at McGregor’s ringside

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Roddy, McGregor’s striking coach, says that he will be on duty at McGregor’s side during the Mayweather fight, and that the fighter will also be supported by Lovov, his sparring partner, and coach Kavanagh.

At the moment, it’s going to be me, John, possibly Artem and I think there’s four. Obviously he’ll have to get his own cut man and stuff like that. He hasn’t sorted that just yet. But it’ll definitely be myself, John and Artem at the moment…We’re not bringing anybody in as of yet, but who knows down the line…We’re gonna head over the states in the next couple of weeks. But at the moment, we’re in Dublin, we’re all working together. We came up with a game plan that we think can shock the world and we’re gonna stick to that for the time being.

19 Jun, 2017

Unseen footage of McGregor backstage prior to UFC 196 loss released

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Previously unreleased footage of McGregor entering the arena before his March 2016 UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz is released. As McGregor heads for the octagon, draped in the Irish tricolour, to the sounds of Sinéad O’Connor’s Foggy Dew, he says:

Sing to me Sinéad. Sing me into war.

Coach Kavanagh issues encouragement to his fighter before the walk is made.

He shouldn’t have asked for it. Now he’s gonna get it.

McGregor lost to a rear naked chokehold towards the end of the second round.

3 Jun, 2017

Kavanagh: Mayweather is a ‘low life’

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In a column for The 42, Kavanagh says he has no respect for Mayweather and his gym’s training practices.

When I was in Australia in April, a lot was made of the fact that I highlighted Mayweather’s history of domestic violence during an interview. I’m not sure why people felt this was such a big deal, given that the man has already been convicted of beating up women. That’s a fact. I have absolutely no time for any man with a track record of such behaviour. In addition to that, from what I’ve seen of his gym, it appears to be the type of atmosphere in which bullies thrive. As many people will know, being bullied is what originally led me to martial arts. I’ve sought to create an atmosphere in my gym where people who have been victims of bullying can feel safe. In Mayweather’s gym, the better fighter bullies his training partner. But that’s not how it should work. The better fighter should always be conscious of their duty to pass on their expertise and help their training partners to grow. It should never be a competition in the gym. To me, Mayweather is a lowlife. He’s a guy I’d never want to have any contact with. Regardless of the outcome of this fight, I won’t be shaking his hand.

Kavanagh: I wouldn’t prepare McGregor if I don’t think he could win

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In a column for The 42, Kavanagh talks about the fight preparations and says that McGregor will fight under boxing rules at 145 pounds.

That fight is close to being agreed and it will be at a weight very close to 145 pounds — maybe just a couple of pounds above that — so Conor will show once again that making that weight, if necessary, isn’t an issue for him. Everything has been agreed from Conor’s perspective, from numbers to ruleset (pure boxing). I don’t know what’s taking Mayweather so long to sign the contract but we’re 100% ready to go. The ball is in his court now. We’re training for the fight — September has been mentioned — so we’re just waiting for the news with each passing day. The experts may not be giving Conor much of a chance, but I wouldn’t allow myself to be involved in preparing any fighter for a contest if I didn’t think we could win. I know a lot of people are dismissing it as merely a money-grab or a spectacle. If it purely was that, I’d wish Conor well but I wouldn’t be part of it…I believe he can do it and Conor is 100% sure about that outcome.

2 Jun, 2017

Kavanagh: It only took 30 minutes for McGregor to convince me

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Kavanagh says he was initially skeptical about McGregor taking on Mayweather.

When I first sat with him and he started explaining the Mayweather fight, it made no sense to me. By the end of the half-hour conversation, he had me shadowboxing him in the room, watching boxing videos…[After Conor and the UFC come to their agreement] it became a lot more real to me. I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing.’…There could still be negotiations going on four weeks out, but the big mistake would be to mentally put off the heavy training until every detail is agreed upon. We are training now. We’re ready for that date in the fall, whenever that might be. We’ll let the lawyers and suits deal with the nuances of who gets this and who gets that. Conor is a fighter. I am his coach. We’ll focus on the contest at hand.

Kavanagh: McGregor will find it hard to get a fair boxing referee

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Kavanagh says McGregor will find it tough to get a fair boxing referee.

If I’m speaking plainly, and I don’t know how much trouble this will get me in, I think we’re going to have a hard time finding a fair referee and a fair set of judges. It will be very difficult for a 50- to 60-year-old boxing referee to not go into this bout a little bit biased. Actually, I’ll throw this out there, I think [U.K.-based MMA referee] Marc Goddard should be the referee. We’re already agreeing to boxing rules, boxing fight, boxing ring — everything is done boxing. So, how about an MMA referee that will understand the inside fighting that will go into this fight?

Kavanagh: McGregor going for ‘old-school’ boxing approach to Mayweather

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Kavanagh says he is already working with McGregor to prepare for his bout with Mayweather.

I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing…I have a pretty good idea on how I see the fight going. Over the next three to four months, we need to put that plan into action. Drill it. See how it works in the gym. Mix and match the plan until we have it right for the night of the fight…[There will be a boxing expert on the team] 100 percent. And the reason why, is that I want to know how boxing people think. It’s not throwing punches. Owen Roddy has that. I need a voice from that world to bounce some of the ideas I have about this contest off of. How he thinks a referee might see something, how a judge sees something. That’s the reason to have someone from boxing, as opposed to learning how to box…We’re not going to spend 10 to 12 years doing something one way and then, because it’s a boxing fight, change everything for three months and beat the best defensive boxer of all time. No. We’ve got to come at this with an MMA striking strategy. Of course, hands only, but maybe there are things we can do from an MMA perspective, which, if people study boxing from the early 20th century, those things were a bigger part in the boxing game than they are today. We’re bringing an old-school boxing approach.

Kavanagh: McGregor won’t train with Freddie Roach

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Kavanagh says McGregor will not be using boxing trainer Freddie Roach for the Mayweather fight.

I will say this: Mayweather has proven himself to be perfect against guys who have trained purely in boxing. I was asked very early on, ‘Are you going to bring in Freddie Roach? He’s the greatest boxing trainer in the world right now.’ OK. I’m an evidence-based guy. I don’t make decision based on emotions. Has Freddie trained somebody to fight Mayweather before? Yes. And a southpaw. A hard-hitting southpaw! And the plan didn’t work…Obviously, Freddie Roach is incredible. I’ve been trying to immerse myself in the boxing world, and Freddie has been called one of the last great guys to understand it all — trainer, cutman, psychologist to the young fighters, technician — but he did come up short in his approach to Mayweather.

1 Jun, 2017

Kavanagh: Holloway will defeat Aldo ‘convincingly’ this weekend

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Coach Kavanagh says Holloway will have no trouble beating Aldo in the upcoming main event at UFC 212 to become the undisputed featherweight champion.

I’ve said it since Conor fought him: apart from Conor, Max Holloway is the second-best guy at 145 [pounds]. I think Holloway will win convincingly. There are a lot of similarities in both of their styles, in terms of being busy strikers who are used to guys trying to take them down. Max is maybe a little bit more dangerous when it comes to submissions. He’ll go for guillotines and stuff on takedowns, whereas Aldo is almost exclusively about defending the takedown. I think Max has grown a lot too. Even since Conor fought him he has improved. Aldo tends to do better against short, stocky wrestlers. He seems to have the perfect game for that. I don’t know if there’s somebody of that style who could possibly beat him. He’s almost perfect for that style. But here he is again, in against somebody he very rarely faces: a taller, striking-based opponent. We might see Aldo having to struggle and look for takedowns. I actually think that will be Aldo’s approach, that he’ll try to grapple. But I think Holloway will either defend them, make him uncomfortable with submission attempts, or else he’ll be able to keep it on the feet and win a decision. I think that’s how it’ll play out: Holloway by decision.

31 May, 2017

Ferguson to Kavanagh: ‘Maintain your lane bitch’

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Kavanagh joins criticism of Ferguson for not accepting a short notice fight with Michael Johnson after Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out of UFC 209,

Leading to Ferguson to respond:

Trainers like you callin’ themselves coach. When all they do is ride coattails and try to claim. Maintain your lane bitch.

23 May, 2017

Ringside audio of Kavanagh coaching McGregor during second Diaz fight

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A recording is released of Kavanagh giving advice to McGregor during the second Nate Diaz fight.

Everything is working the way we said it would. Don’t change anything. Stay with the leg kicks. Don’t push anything. We’ve got four rounds to go.

19 Apr, 2017

McGregor-Aldo corner audio released

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Audio recordings from the corners of the McGregor-Aldo fight at UFC 194 are released, showing the contrasting attitudes of the fighters. While the Brazilian’s corner repeatedly tells Aldo to calm down, the fighter says:

Stay calm, go calm. You are the champion. That is you.

As Aldo enters the octagon, an Irish voice that is likely to be Coach Kavanagh says:

Welcome to hell…He doesn’t wanna be in here.

 

14 Apr, 2017

Kavanagh: Mcgregor will not fight in Ireland again

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At an event at Sydney’s Star Casino, Coach Kavanagh says that, despite hopes that McGregor would one day fight in front of home fans at Croke Park in Dublin, it most likely won’t happen.

I have to be honest, I don’t ever see him fighting in Ireland again. Just the time difference [between Ireland and peak American viewing time]. He’d be doing a 4am walk the way Alex Gustafsson had to do. Imagine Irish people from 8pm to 4am drinking and then Conor walking out … there’d be 80,000 people asleep on chairs. I don’t think that’s going to happen.

13 Apr, 2017

Street fight breaks out during Kavanagh interview in Australia

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Kavanagh is on the street speaking to Parr (an Australian kickboxing champion) when a scuffle breaks out near them. Kavanagh offers to coach one of the people involved.

I’ll coach him, and you get the other guy.

7 Apr, 2017

Kavanagh: McGregor can beat Woodley easily

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At an event at the Star Casino in Sydney, Kavanagh explains how McGregor can beat Woodley.

I’d fancy [Conor] in there with Woodley. He’s just another wrestler with an overhand right, and that’s the type Conor grew up knocking out. So I wouldn’t see a massive challenge in that. I would like to see Gunni  get that belt. Gunnar Nelson will be the next SBG world champion.

Kavanagh: McGregor to return to MMA in the summer if there’s no Mayweather fight

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At an event at Sydney’s Star Casino, Coach Kavanagh says McGregor will return to MMA if the Mayweather fight doesn’t happen.

What I see happening this year is the Mayweather fight, maybe the end of the summer or something like that. [But] let’s say Mayweather doesn’t want to do it, for whatever reason. Then I could see us fighting in MMA by the end of the summer, [for] the lightweight belt. One thing you’ve got to understand about Conor — and this might rattle your bones — is his motivation is not money when it comes to fighting. Right now, even with his ridiculous spending habits, he wouldn’t be able to spend his money by the time he retired. It’s not money that’s getting him up in the morning. It’s the competition. It’s facing someone he genuinely feels is a threat.