John Kavanagh believes Conor McGregor is looking the best he’s ever looked in training ahead of the Irishman’s clash with Donald Cerrone.
McGregor is set to meet Cerrone in Las Vegas on January 18, and considers the contest to be the first outing of his 2020 ‘season’. In Kavanagh’s mind, McGregor’s enthusiasm for his return, as well as his desire to keep consistent over the next year all adds up to a man who’s ready to perform at his best once again.
“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.
“Conor knows more about fighting than the rest of us put together.”
While McGregor has been linked to a number of men inside the UFC now that he’s keen on competing regularly once again, Kavanagh believes the return to form will not come based on whom McGregor fights, but rather on how much he enjoys his own training.
“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.”
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