Conor McGregor has his work cut out for him ahead of his big UFC 329 return against Max Holloway this Saturday. In preparation for the comeback bout, McGregor’s head coach vows the former two-division UFC champion has pulled out all the stops
It’s been five years since McGregor stepped foot in the Octagon for his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. At various points during his hiatus, McGregor was expected to remain on the sidelines forever. However, his longtime coach at SBG Ireland, John Kavanagh, said Wednesday that he realized McGregor was serious about fighting again once the UFC star quite literally moved into the gym around last Christmas
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Speaking in-studio on “The Ariel Helwani Show” in Las Vegas, Kavanagh acknowledged that although he thought it was a great idea for McGregor to camp out at SBG, he admittedly didn’t expect it actually happen — and thought it would last for only a day
“I had a storage room, and he asked if he could put a bed in it. … A couple of nights of the week, he was sleeping there, especially on sparring days,” Kavanagh told Uncrowned
“We’re trying to make sure we did everything right for the last six months. It was a certain mindset that comes with that. You’re in that environment — from 6 a.m., the gym is loud and busy. I just thought it was a bit of a ‘Rocky III’ moment: Go back, get the eye of the tiger.”
It’s been a long road back to action for McGregor. The Irishman suffered a first-round TKO loss in his aforementioned Poirier bout, gruesomely breaking his leg in the final seconds. A fight against Michael Chandler was lined up to welcome McGregor back in June 2024 rather than Max Holloway, however McGregor withdrew due to a broken pinky toe
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Having dealt with as catastrophic an injury as the one that first sidelined McGregor, there has been plenty of concern surrounding his health for a potential return. Kavanagh, though, assured it’s been all systems go to the best of McGregor’s abilities for UFC 329
“We’ve been super careful this training camp. He has not a niggle on him, not a bump, not a bruise — 100%, we’ll get to see the best version of him,” Kavanagh said
“I heard him saying something along the lines of not being mentally — I’m going to get the quote wrong, but it was like he was assuming the fault [of getting injured before the Chandler bout in 2024]. It wasn’t. It was not him. So, what can I say?”
McGregor is no stranger to big moments, whether attempting to halt the legendary run of Jose Aldo in 2015 or claim a second UFC title in Madison Square Garden’s first MMA event in 2016. Kavanagh has been by his fighter’s side since the beginning, putting in all of the work necessary to help achieve the heights McGregor ultimately did
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With those heights, however, have come plenty of lows
Throughout McGregor’s recovery and half-decade absence from MMA competition, the Irishman has repeatedly found himself in headlines for all of the wrong reasons. In late 2024, he was found liable in a high-profile Irish civil trial for the 2018 sexual assault of Nikita Hand. As recently as last month, it was controversially confirmed that McGregor used performance-enhancing drugs amid his recovery process for his broken leg
From Kavanagh’s perspective, the rocky road to Saturday’s Holloway rematch has pushed McGregor to a level of dedication even he has never seen before
“I believe what people are seeing in Conor in the media, and they’ll continue to see as the week progresses, this level of sort of calm confidence is the result of what he’s done the last six months,” Kavanagh said
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“I always have that joke saying I could give the best ‘Rocky’ speech to a fighter, not just Conor, the night before a fight. But he has to go to bed and listen to himself. You can’t lie to yourself, and you’ll start scratching away at your confidence, saying, ‘I didn’t eat right all the time. I missed those few sessions.’ I can’t tell you if he did or didn’t. True confidence is only born through hard work, and he really has done it the right way the last six months
“I would say this last six months of training, and how he’s approached it, might be the hardest and most dedicated six months he’s done since I’ve known him,” Kavanagh continued. “I don’t say that lightly. Just the way he’s been has been different. It really has. You all can say what you like, but I believe you’ll see the result of that work Saturday night.”
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In terms of the fight itself, McGregor vs. Holloway 2 is set to take place at 170 pounds — 25 pounds over the first bout’s 145-pound limit. So while McGregor may be the one returning to the Octagon after five years away, in turn, he’s also welcoming former featherweight champion Holloway to the welterweight division for the first time ever
Kavanagh doesn’t expect the weight changes to play as much of a factor as most, though the infamous knockout power his pupil possesses remains a major threat
“Max hasn’t been at that weight class. Obviously he’s sparring [former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena], but there’s sparring, and there’s fighting. That’ll be different for him,” Kavanagh said
“There’s being hit by 170-pound guys in a competitive environment with four-ounce gloves, and then there’s being hit by Conor McGregor in a competitive environment with four-ounce gloves. The first minute alone will tell us a lot. It’s more dealing with that than with the extra power opposed to — Max is famously hard-working, so I just don’t see that being any issue.”
