Coach Says There’s “No Chance” of Conor McGregor Fighting Tony Ferguson at UFC 249

Since it looks all but certain that Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t be fighting Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, some have wondered if Conor McGregor could jump in as a replacement for the champ. But, recently McGregor’s longtime coach, John Kavanagh, shut down all that talk.

Kavanagh says there’s “no chance” McGregor will fight at UFC 249

The original headliner for the April 18th card appears to be a no-go, as Nurmagomedov is currently in Russia, where travel in-and-out of the country is banned due to the coronavirus. As the UFC scrambles to salvage the card, some folks have wondered if McGregor could be tapped as a replacement.

 But, while talking on Instagram recently to ESPN, Kavanagh made it clear that’s not going to happen (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“No chance of that,” Kavanagh said. “Ireland is on a pretty strict lockdown (due to coronavirus). Me and Conor have no physical interactions. There’s no physical interaction at the gym. Gyms are shut down.”

“To try and rush that together, I just don’t think it would be smart,” Kavanagh added. “He certainly isn’t fighting so that he has food for the next six months. That’s not where he is in his life.”

Now, it should be noted that McGregor recently claimed via Twitter that he’s ready to fight “right now”, while accusing Nurmagomedov of “chickening out” of UFC 249. But, when you consider all the travel bans, as well as McGregor’s recent statements about the importance of self-quarantining, it’s hard to imagine him leaving Ireland.

Kavanagh acknowledged there’s been talk about fight with Justin Gaethje

The Straight Blast Gym coach was also asked about recent reports a fight between McGregor and Gaethje for this summer, could be in the works. Kavanagh said this.

“(Gaethje) was certainly one of the ones that was being talked about,” Kavanagh said. “That was right up there.”

So, we’ll see what happens. When the UFC is up-and-running again, you know they would love to have McGregor competing on one of the first cards and generating some big-time revenue.