Stopped McGregor signing a bad deal before UFC debut
Kavanagh says that a couple of months before McGregor joined the UFC, someone tried to sign him as his manager to a very restrictive deal.
That would have cost him around 20-25% of his earnings in return for something like €1,000 a month. Conor was rushing to sign it, saying: ‘I’m getting a thousand euros for doin nuthin!’ I begged him not to sign – I literally ripped the deal away from him – and to this day I bring it up every now and again: ‘Do you remember that?’ Because Conor will still get a contract, flick straight to the end, and look at the number without knowing what he’s committing to…He was on the dole, earning €100 a fight and training at the height of winter in a cold gym. His annual earnings for that five-year period was something like €1,500 a year! There was no money. Now it’s a 10-car cavalcade wherever we go, but back then there was just the two of us.
Shortly after, McGregor earned a €60,000 fight bonus for his first round finish of Marcus Brimage, and is now the highest paid UFC athlete.
Talks about sparring knockout rumour
Kavanagh talks about the rumour that McGregor was knocked out during sparring.
It just picked up steam very, very quickly and within minutes I’m getting my mother ringing me, saying: What the hell is after happening to Conor?
Tyson gives McGregor financial advice
Kavanaugh says that Tyson recently passed some financial advice to McGregor:
If it depreciates, lease it. If it appreciates, buy it…Not that [Conor] listened – he bought 25 cars the next day!
Team SBG video
The Mac Life releases a video of McGregor and the rest of SBG undergoing a grappling class with Coach Kavanagh, while nutritionist Lockhart details both his time in Ireland, and managing McGregor’s weight leading up to UFC 205. Lockhart:
I’ve got enough food to feed a small army…or Conor McGregor.
McGregor will give ‘positive news’ after UFC 205
Coach Kavanagh says McGregor will give ‘positive news’ after UFC 205.
I’ve heard him say a few different things and they’re all positive. Whatever way he goes with this, it’s only positive. Conor has such a hyperactive mind and a hyperactive body, you’d never know what’s going to happen with him. But for sure it’s a positive announcement. I know people are going to enjoy what he has to say.
Roddy, Kavanagh interview
The Mac Life releases a video interview with Roddy and Kavanagh. Roddy:
At 70 kilos (155 pounds) [McGregor] is at the best weight that suits his body”, Roddy explains. “For me just working on the pads with him, he just seems a lot sharper, a lot faster. I don’t feel like he’s lost any power and he’s gained a bit of speed. This is the weight he should fight at and should have always fought at. I think we’re going to see the best Conor.
Kavanagh:
Routine, routine, routine. This was always my way. Conor is more flowy and artistic and does things as he feels is the right time to do them but he has seen the benefit of it as well. For the last few months now, I could tell you six weeks in advance what today’s session was going to be. It’s paid dividends. It did in the last fight and we’ve continued it on to this one.
This is the ‘Goldilocks McGregor’ fight
Coach Kavanagh talks about McGregor’s preparation in the lead up to UFC 205. On Alvarez’s chances:
A few knocks and bruises can absolutely be expected at the end of a tough training camp. But no injuries..Any takedown Eddie gets he’s going to have to fight tooth and nail for. And even if he does get a takedown, it’s gonna be an exhausting process. And if even if you do get [Conor] down, he’s very, very difficult to hold down. And if you are holding him down you’re gonna be eating big elbows, submission attempts. He’s gonna be talking, reminding him how tiring it’s getting. He’s a tough guy for anyone.
On the weight class:
It’s like the Goldilocks porridge — a little bit too hot, a little bit too cold, and just right…Conor can pretty much diet to 55. But getting 55 to 45, you look at his body and think, ‘Where can I get 10 pounds off?’…He’s gonna be shredded I’m sure but not gaunt. It really is the Goldilocks McGregor fight.
Lays out McGregor’s Post-UFC 205 options
In an interview with McMahon, Kavanagh outlines the different options open to McGregor after UFC 205.
To be honest, things change so rapidly, we are not too sure what the next step is going to be. Right now we are just going to focus on this contest. Let’s get this positive result. [However,] there are so many options for Conor right now. The [Floyd] Mayweather fight is still kind of hanging in there. [Conor] is the [145-pound] champion. In a couple of weeks he will be the [155-pound] champion. The Nate [Diaz] trilogy is there. Maybe going back to [145lbs]. So, a lot of things are up in the air. I’m sure Conor will have an interesting announcement to make after the fight. So, stay tuned.
On the possibility of Mayweather-McGregor fight:
There is only one way that Floyd would step in and that would be pure boxing. Absolutely, that’s the only way.
UFC 205 Embedded: Vlog Series – Episode 1
Alvarez and McGregor appear in the the first episode of UFC 205 Embedded. Their respective coaches and sparring partners also appear. Alvarez:
Conor McGregor is so offensive minded and never on the defense that whenever you put him on the defense he gets so flustered and so upset. At a certain point on our press conference cal he got desperate and started talking about my wife and kids and things like that. For me, It’s just a sign of desperation. You don’t talk about another man’s family unless you’re through the roof pissed off.
McGregor:
Just more of the same hard f-cking work. Day in day out.
Predicts second round victory
When Kavanagh is asked about Alvarez employing similar tactics against McGregor as he did when he defeated Anthony Pettis, he says:
That would seem to be the smart money. The Pettis fight was a nice one for us to study, you know, he’s kind of a slick southpaw. The glaring difference would be that Pettis wouldn’t be known for fighting with his hands on the inside. Beautiful kicks. Eddie just smothered that. That’s not to say that Eddie doesn’t enjoy a brawl. He seems to. Anything I’ve heard from him, he seems to be very up for that. They’ve been studying Conor’s style of boxing. I’m looking at them doing a lot of pads and maybe they feel they do see a glaring hole there. Eddie does feel like he can expose him. I mean he’s coming off of a knockout victory of a tough guy [Rafael dos Anjos], so maybe they see that as their route to victory.
He disagrees with McGregor’s prediction that the Irishman will win in the first round:
I’ll go with 2nd round. I’m going to be conservative. I do think Round 1 will be quite a lot on the fence. But, it’s an exhausting style, especially the way Conor can defend himself on the fence, he doesn’t rely on muscle he relies on posture, which is not tiring. It just takes one break. Round 2 they start. The shot won’t be quite as fast. The muscles won’t be quite as energetic and he’s a slippery customer to try and hold for that length of time. So I think around about the eight-minute mark. That’s when it’ll happen.
‘Ireland, we did it!’
Kavanagh and McGregor share an image after McGregor’s win over Alvarez.
Ireland, we did it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMvZ2S6gcxy/
Kavanagh: McGregor will fight anyone
Kavanagh says he’s open to McGregor fighting anyone.
There’s a lot of fights I’d like to see. I think Canor is pound for pound the best unarmed combatant on the planet right now, regardless of what kind of combat sport it is. To me, it’s a real privilege to see him in action. I’d like to see him test different styles. Whether it’s Khabib the lightweight, whether it’s the trilogy fight with Nate, or the Aldo match at 145. Who knows with Conor? [Or Mayweather?] That would be great too. I’d be very curious to see that too. Bring them on.
MMA Live interview
Kavanagh appears on MMA Live with Helwani to talk about UFC 205. On McGregor’s baby announcement.
People always roll their eyes when I say this, but Conor is an extremely private person. Of course he has the promotion side of fights. But [try to] find pictures of him when there’s no fights going on. He doesn’t really go out. He doesn’t have a massive friend circle. Most of the time it’s just him and Dee together.
Kavanagh: No McGregor Croke Park fight
Kavanagh says he doubts there will be a Croke Park fight for McGregor, because pay-per-view fights are scheduled for 10pm in Las Vegas.
I doubt [there’ll be a fight in Croke Park] because it would have to be at 5am and I don’t think the authorities would allow it. Could you imagine an Irish crowd at 5am? Even the fight we just did was at 1am – we were walking out and there was people yawning in the changing rooms. At 1am your body starts to shut down and we were going out to fight…They always do it for Vegas. I don’t quite know why. I guess they’ve done the numbers and it all makes sense. It’s all down to pay-per-views. They did one in Sweden for a famous Swedish fighter. It was at 5.30am and there were people in the crowd fast asleep.
Kavanagh: Woodley ‘not Goliath’
Kavanagh says McGregor could beat Woodley:
…I don’t see what other people are saying, ‘There’s no way Conor can touch this guy.’ There is. No one is perfect. There’s openings there. Of course, he’s a bigger man, he’s got more power and you’ve gotta be super careful. But Conor trains with big guys like this…He’s not enormous. He’s not some Goliath man. He’s a little bit bigger. Conor would have reach on him, he would have technique on him in the striking, for sure. He’d have to of course deal with that power. … I certainly don’t in my head go, ‘Oh my God, no. We couldn’t possibly beat him.’ It’s a doable fight.
Kavanagh: McGregor belt decision ‘ridiculous’
Kavanagh says the way McGregor’s belt was taken from him was badly handled.
For me personally, I was very disappointed by the way [the UFC] went about doing it. It was a very messy set of circumstances which led to doing it. They lost a main event and then they haphazardly threw together a new main event. They felt they had to make this for a title in order for it to sell so they brought in another interim title that Jose Aldo already has and then bumped Jose Aldo up to the current undisputed champion, which just seems ridiculous to me. Conor has only been 11 months since he won that title. There have been many, many examples of fighters waiting 15 months, 18 months before defending it. He’s 11 months and they stripped him of it. I thought it was very shortsighted by the UFC how they went about doing it.
Kavanagh confirms McGregor-Mayweather talks
Coach Kavanagh confirms McGregor and Mayweather are in talks for a potential boxing fight in 2017.
If the odds were good enough, I’d put a few quid on it for next year. I’m not breaking any news saying that there’s conversations going back and forth for the last year or so. Is it getting any close? I don’t know, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me that it’s going to happen. He’s 49-0. I’m sure he wants that 50th fight. It’s a nice number. Right now, ask the average guy on the street, who do you want to see Mayweather fight, what fight’s going to get the most interest, and it would be a superfight with Conor. Certainly stranger things have happened in combat sports than a Mayweather-Conor fight. I wouldn’t be surprised by it, so who knows? It’s one of the many options that are there for Conor, so let’s see how the next couple of weeks go.
Kavanagh explains McGregor holding hands behind back
Coach Kavanagh says McGregor was holding his hands behind his back during his UFC 205 fight with Alvarez due to an injury. He says McGregor’s right index knuckle was hurt during his UFC 202 fight with Nate Diaz, and that was his way of protecting it in training, and also has the added advantage of fooling his opponent into trying to hit his head.
He found that if he actually held his right hand behind his back, it kind of reminded him not to throw it as much. That’s why he started reaching back and actually grabbing his hand. It was almost like a mental note: take care of the right hand…If you put your hands down, an untrained person will try to swing at your head. It’s a base instinct — I want to punch the guy in the head. If you have a very high level of striking, boxing like Conor does, you understand rules like that. I don’t think others are kind of catching up to that level of skill.
Aldo calls McGregor, Kavanagh ‘pieces of shit’
Aldo criticises the UFC, McGregor and Kavanagh:
The UFC has been a mess for a while now. Not only for me, it’s been happening way before that. It embarrassed featherweight and now embarrasses lightweight. Khabib Nurmagomedov signed two contracts to fight for the title and still hasn’t. We also have Demian Maia waiting at welterweight and Ronaldo Jacare [Souza] is waiting for even longer than that. It’s cool for me, I was a dominant champion for a long time, but what about Jacare’s situation? He’s always winning and doesn’t get his title shot. They tell him he’ll fight for the title and he never does. And it seems he never will. It’s a mess…I knew I would be the champion and he knows what happened to me in that fight will never happen again. It was known I would be champion again so I don’t have a problem with the way it happened. I’ve always said that having the belt around my waist is all that matters. No matter what, I’m the champion. I don’t care about what his coach says. Who is his coach anyway? I don’t know who he is. Or him. They’re all pieces of shit.
Kavanagh responds to Mayweather’s caption contest
Coach Kavanagh responds to Mayweather’s McGregor’s photo caption contest.
I think it would be more interesting if he came up with a date or contract for a fight. That would be more interesting.
