Coach: Conor McGregor’s Hands Will Be “A Lot Better” When He Returns
With no return date set for UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor‘s first-ever title defense, the most speculated-upon topic in all of MMA is undoubtedly just what “The Notorious” will do next.
The Irish UFC megastar has been out of the Octagon since winning the 155-pound belt over Eddie Alvarez at last November’s UFC 205, choosing to take some time to welcome his first child into the world before embarking on an overblown “rivalry” with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. that ended with McGregor getting stopped in the tenth round of their boxing super-circus on August 26.
Many if not most think he should return – and soon – to defend his title against interim champ Tony Ferguson, who won the second-place title against Kevin Lee in the main event of October’s UFC 216. Of course, the long-rumored trilogy fight with Nate Diaz is always there, too, so it’s anyone’s guess as to when and against whom McGregor will return. When he does, however, his longtime Straight Blast Gym (SBG) head coach John Kavanagh thinks he’s going to be better than ever.
Speaking in a recent interview with The Daily Star (via MMA Mania), Kavanagh said that due to his year of training specifically boxing, his star student’s hands will be even better than they were during his decorated opening run in the UFC:
“When would an MMA guy have a chance to take six months just to focus on one aspect of MMA?. Never is the answer, they’re always trying to work on everything. But when he does return to the Octagon, his hands are going to be a lot better than what they were. And I’m excited to see that.”
While his foray into boxing would understandably refine his striking technique, it also brings the question if McGregor then let his progression in wrestling and grappling, which has long been pointed out as his weakness, stagnate as he focused only on the stand-up portion of MMA.
Kavanagh said that the opposite of the case, noting that he and McGregor hit the mats recently so grappling was also in McGregor’s mind:
“You know, I was rolling with him two weeks ago and I was wondering how his jiu-jitsu would be,” Kavanagh said. “And I was very annoyed that he took my back and choked me. So he hasn’t lost too much there. Of course, he has to tighten up there before he goes to fight in the Octagon again. But he really does love grappling.
“Even in the lead up to the Mayweather fight, he would still kind of ask you about wrestling or jiu-jitsu, and he’d say, ‘hey, look at this’. I know it’s in his head all the time although he wasn’t physically training it. I know mentally he’s still thinking about it.”
McGregor may be thinking about it, yet it can’t be denied that the main struggles he had in the few UFC bouts he experienced adversity, most notably against Chad Mendes in a fight he came back to win by TKO, and of course against Diaz, who submitted McGregor after rocking him on the feet in their first showdown at March 2016’s UFC 196.
Ferguson is known for his unorthodox submission game and collegiate wrestling background, two things that could clearly give McGregor problems should they fight, but he’s also known for getting hit too much, something that could end his night early against the Irish heavy hitter – especially if his hands truly are better like Kavanagh says.
It’s an interesting clash of styles to be certain, yet at this point, McGregor fans are probably just hoping he announces his MMA return regardless of whom it’s against.
