Coach Says Conor McGregor Will Be Even Better When He Returns to the UFC

Conor McGregor’s head coach says that he expects McGregor to be even better than before when he next fights for the UFC. John Kavanagh spoke with the Daily Star about McGregor’s eventual return to the Octagon following his high-profile boxing match with Conor McGregor in August. Highlights are below:

On McGregor’s growth since his last UFC fight: “To be honest, some of the things we’ve come away with from the Mayweather fight, some of the (improvements), when would an MMA guy have a chance to take six months just to focus on one aspect of MMA? ‘Never’ is the answer. They’re always trying to work on everything. But when he does return to the octagon, his hands are going to be a lot better than what they were. And I’m excited to see that.”

On McGregor’s grappling: “You know, I was rolling with him two weeks ago, and I was wondering how his jiu-jitsu would be. And I was very annoyed that he took my back and choked me. So he hasn’t lost too much there. Of course, he has to tighten up there before he goes to fight in the octagon again. But he really does love grappling. Even in the lead-up to the Mayweather fight, he would still kind of ask you about wrestling or jiu-jitsu. And he’d say, ‘Hey, look at this.’ I know it’s in his head all the time, although he wasn’t physically training it. I know mentally he’s still thinking about it.”