UFC 246: Conor McGregor’s Coach Reports Why “This is The Best” Former Champ’s “Ever Been”

As Conor McGregor gets set to battle Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, questions abound regarding the star’s mindset and future. But, in a recent interview his head coach John Kavanagh gave, the SBG leader reported the fighter has never looked better.

Kavanagh explains why McGregor is at his best

Anytime McGregor is fighting it creates a lot of buzz. But, this time around, a big reason for all the speculation and discussion is due to what’s transpired with McGregor in recent years. The former champ hasn’t won a fight since 2016, he’s made ridiculous amounts of money, and he’s also made headlines for various incidents. As a result, some have questioned whether McGregor is indeed focused and prepared to make another run at UFC gold.

Well, recently Kavanagh spoke with The MacLife, ahead of McGregor’s January 18th bout with Cerrone. While doing so, the renowned coach had this to say about the controversial star:

“With Conor’s fight IQ, Conor’s understanding of the game, really this training camp is about all of us getting out of his way,” Kavanagh said. “Provide him with an environment where he can have different looks, different feels and support him where he wants the training camp to go, in intensities and listening to him where he has days where he wants to push hard and days where he wants to slow down. It’s not so much about us coaches sitting there on a game plan and filling Conor in.

“I think this is the best he’s ever been,” Kavanagh said. “And the reason why I’m saying that is because of the consistency over the last few months. There’s a real return to smiling on the mat, enjoying it, having fun and it’s a cliche to say but a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter. He just seems really happy with his life and with his training and with the environment we have here, and competing again, and having those exchanges and so on. So I think this is the best he’s ever been.”

Are we going to see the best McGregor ever?

There’s no doubt that some fans and pundits will argue that Kavanagh is just saying this, and that we’ve heard similar comments in the past. But, the comments do seem to be in keeping with what McGregor’s been saying in recent weeks. The 31-year-old’s said he wants to stay busy in 2020 and that he plans to fight three times. McGregor doesn’t (or shouldn’t) need the money. So, his main motivation at this stage of his career must be to re-establish himself as one of the sport’s very best.

The big question is, however, what if Conor loses to Cerrone? Or, what if he’s defeated by say Jorge Masvidal or Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year? Will he still continue to fight?