John Kavanagh Insists he Can’t “Convince” Conor McGregor to Fight Again

Plenty of people question whether Conor McGregor is really, officially retired. But, according to his longtime coach John Kavanagh, as he far as he can tell, the star really is.

But, could Kavanagh convince McGregor to return to the Octagon? If the Straight Blast Gym leader wanted to? Apparently not.

Kavanagh discusses whether McGregor’s really retired

After UFC 250 took place earlier this month, McGregor jumped into the headlines by announcing he was retiring. In his initial announcement, via Twitter, the star didn’t provide any details as to why.

But, in a follow-up interview, McGregor proceeded to claim that the sport doesn’t excite him anymore. He also expressed frustration about the fact there was no movement on finalizing his next fight.

Well, more recently Kavanagh fielded questions during a YouTube stream via MMA World). Not surprisingly, the Irish coach was asked about McGregor’s retirement, and he said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“Is Conor retired?” Kavanagh said. “Yes, he is as far as I can tell. That’s what he said, isn’t it?”

And when asked whether he could convince the star to come back, Kavanagh said the following:

“I can’t convince Conor to do sh*t,” Kavanagh said. “Conor will tell Conor what he’s gonna do. And who knows? Who knows what’s gonna happen in the future. But, as for now, he’s retired.”

Thoughts?

There’s a couple of things to look at here. First, it’s not surprising to hear Kavanagh say he can’t convince McGregor to come out of retirement. Over the years, especially since McGregor became a massive star, it’s been clear he runs the show in terms of his career.

It is somewhat interesting, however, that Kavanagh didn’t outright say he believes McGregor will fight again. Or outline a situation, in which the former UFC champ would return to the cage.

The 31-year-old McGregor (22-4) is coming off a quick, stoppage win over Donald Cerrone in January. That bout marked the first time he had fought, since he was submitted by lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.