John Kavanagh News

Harry Kettle - September 5, 2023

UFC star Conor McGregor has formally received his BJJ black belt from head coach John Kavanagh at SBG Ireland. For the longest time now, Conor McGregor has been part of the SBG Ireland family. He made his name under the umbrella of the gym, and it’s where he’s been training since he first started his mixed martial arts journey. It’s been one hell of a road to get to this point, but at this stage, nobody can deny that he’s the biggest star in the history of the sport.

Harry Kettle - January 24, 2023

John Kavanagh has listed a handful of possible opponents who could tempt Conor McGregor to return to the Octagon. For so long now, fans have been watching and waiting to see if and when Conor McGregor would return. He appears to have recovered from his broken leg, with the only question being who he will fight upon returning.

Josh Evanoff - July 15, 2022

Former UFC dual-weight champion Conor McGregor is looking great in training according to John Kavanagh. ‘The Notorious’ has been out of the cage since his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier last July at UFC 264. That outing saw McGregor lose via TKO, due to a broken leg he suffered in round one. The brutal injury has left the former champion sidelined for over a year.

Christopher Taylor - December 18, 2021

John Kavanagh has reacted to a potential fight between his pupil Conor McGregor and reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Shortly after ‘Do Bronx’ earned his first career title defense with a third round submission victory over McGregor’s arch rival Dustin Poirier, ‘Notorious’ took to social media with the following question.

Adam D Martin - November 25, 2021

MMA coach John Kavanagh joked that his pupil Conor McGregor has “got a hundred opponents lined up” for his upcoming UFC return in 2022. McGregor is coming off of back-to-back TKO losses to Dustin Poirier earlier this year, the second of which saw the Irishman suffer a nasty broken leg in his defeat. The hope is that McGregor will continue to make progress in his recovery from the broken leg and then return to fighting in 2022. When he does eventually step back into the Octagon, then his coach at SBG Ireland, Kavanagh, believes there will be no shortage of potential opponents.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

MMA coach John Kavanagh says that he wants to see top welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev fight against his pupil Gunnar Nelson next. Kavanagh, who is of course the longtime head coach of UFC superstar Conor McGregor, took to his social media on Tuesday to make a matchmaking suggestion to the UFC. As far as the coach goes, he believes that a fight between Chimaev and Nelson would make a lot of sense. With the UFC rumored to be holding an event in London in March, Kavanagh believes this would be the ideal situation to hold this potential fight between Chimaev and Nelson. Take a look below at what the coach said about this potential welterweight fight.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2021

Dillon Danis and John Kavanagh, two of the most important people in Conor McGregor’s inner circle, have reacted to his loss to Dustin Poirier. McGregor met Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 on Fight Island last Saturday. The pair’s lightweight showdown was a rematch of a 2014 fight that McGregor won by first-round knockout. This time around, Poirier evened the score, ruining McGregor’s lead leg with calf kicks, and stopping him with punches in round two.

Adam Martin - December 27, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh wants the MMA community to remember that Dustin Poirier has already felt Conor McGregor’s knockout power in the past. McGregor and Poirier meet for the second time next month at UFC 257 on UFC Fight Island. The first time these two fought was back in September 2014 at UFC 178. That fight was almost seven years ago and it was down at featherweight. Both men are different fighters now and both are now fighting up at lightweight. It’s why some analysts believe that Poirier has a much better chance to win the rematch this time.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

Renowned mixed martial arts coach John Kavanagh was not impressed with Snoop Dogg’s commentary during last weekend’s Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight. Tyson and Jones, 54 and 51 respectively, collided in an eight-round heavyweight exhibition fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Despite the age of the two men, the event generated massive international interest, with many stars of the combat sports world tuning in—Kavanagh included.

Chris Taylor - July 2, 2020

Coach Kavanagh claims that a few UFC fighters have pulled him aside at events to send their appreciation to his ‘boy’ Conor McGregor for “changing the game”. John Kavanagh’s claim came shortly after Dustin Poirier suggested that he credited his defeat to McGregor as the reason for his career resurgence.

Fernando Quiles - June 29, 2020

Head coach John Kavanagh claims Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje was close to materializing. Gaethje has been on a tear since dropping back-to-back bouts against Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez. “The Highlight” is riding a four-fight winning streak. In that span, he’s beaten Tony Ferguson, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick.

Natasha Hooper - June 16, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh has revealed the first thing he looks for in a potential fighter, and his answer may surprise you. The Irish mixed martial arts coach rose to fame following the success of his student, Conor McGregor. Kavanagh was instrumental in McGregor’s wins and eventual championship reigns. He is also the coach for other MMA stars like James Gallagher, Gunnar Nelson and Makwan Amirkhani.

Adam Martin - April 3, 2020

MMA coach John Kavanagh gave some advice to top lightweight contender Tony Ferguson, who is currently awaiting a new opponent for UFC 249. Ferguson was set to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249, but Nurmagomedov will no longer be able to compete at the event due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions in Russia and the U.S. That leaves Ferguson without an opponent, though the UFC has reportedly offered him a short-notice fight against Justin Gaethje to save the card.

Mike Pendleton - March 19, 2020

John Kavanagh has been the head coach of SBG Ireland since 2001, and most fans know him as the coach behind Conor McGregor. Yet he’s far more than just that.

Natasha Hooper - February 19, 2020

Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh acknowledges major mistakes made by his fighter, but says he is “proud of how he’s come through those things.” “The Notorious” returned to the UFC Octagon this year for the first time since his UFC 229 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He faced Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in his comeback and bulldozed his way to victory in just 40 seconds of the first round.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020

Conor McGregor has had a crazy few years. While he’s had some big moments of success — most notably his 40-second, January knockout of Donald Cerrone — he’s also made his way into the headlines for numerous brushes with the law.

Cole Shelton - January 21, 2020

Conor McGregor has options for who he fights next, but according to his coach, John Kavanagh, he wants it to be against Justin Gaethje. In the main event of UFC 246, McGregor made his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon against Donald Cerrone at welterweight. There, the Irishman made quick work of “Cowboy” as he knocked him out in 40 seconds.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2020

For a time, Conor McGregor was the biggest sporting star in Ireland, and arguably one of the most popular athletes in the world. After a couple of losses and a long list of troubles outside the cage, however, there is a widespread perception that the Irishman’s popularity has died down, even on the Emerald Isle. Not so, says long-time McGregor head coach John Kavanagh.