John Kavanagh confirms Conor McGregor is retired but eyes three opponents for potential return

Conor McGregor is truly retired according to his head coach, John Kavanagh.

McGregor recently tweeted he was retired yet many fans and fighters didn’t believe it. The Irishman has retired before but his coach claims he truly is done with fighting, as far as he can tell.

“Yes, he is [retired], as far as I can tell,” Kavanagh said on an Instagram Live (captured by MMAFocus). “That’s what he said, isn’t it?”

Although many think Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon once fans can come back, Kavanagh said he won’t push his fighter to return. He believes only McGregor himself can convince him to come back if he truly is retired.

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

McGregor made his big return this past January where he scored a TKO win over Donald Cerrone in just forty seconds. He then said 2020 would be a season where he wanted three fights and the third being a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the belt.

Yet, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and him retiring, that appears unlikely to happen. So, according to Kavanagh if McGregor does come back, the SBG Ireland head coach has some opponents in mind for the Irishman’s return fight.

“Three fights I would like to see, I’ll give you my top three. [It] would be Gaethje, I would love that fight, it would be awesome. Diaz, the trilogy, and [the] Khabib rematch,” he explained. “They would be the three fights I would be very interested in.”

In the same Instagram Live chat, John Kavanagh revealed the Gaethje fight was actually close to happening. But, due to the pandemic, the fight never came to fruition and now “The Highlight” is set to fight Nurmagomedov for the belt in September.

Conor McGregor is still the biggest star in the sport. So, him returning would be big for the UFC. Yet, his fights are spectacles so he likely wants fans back in the arena for his fights, and who knows when that will be.

So, for now, the Irishman claims he is retired which his coach backs up.

Do you think Conor McGregor is truly retired?