Coach Clears Air on Conor McGregor's Return, Health & Motivation

Exclusive: Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh explains McGregor's current health and motivation.

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh insists that the Irish UFC star is in good health and awaits an announcement from Dana White some time soon.

McGregor is currently sidelined with a broken toe, which forced him out of his UFC 305 fight with Michael Chandler in July. McGregor's 1,000+ day hiatus from MMA has been plagued with delays and little to no explanation for his absence, but Kavanagh is keen to clear the air on McGregor's health, status and motivation.

Kavanagh: McGregor's Body is a Hundred Percent Now

"The body is a hundred percent now," Kavanagh told Luckyblock on behalf of MMA Knockout. "[McGregor's leg injury] kept us out for a while and then a very unfortunate incident a couple of weeks ago when he broke his toe and that cost that fight.

"I couldn't stress how much everything was going well in the lead up to that, the training was great. We had some very good training partners in here and Conor was looking really spectacular."

Motivation is a factor in McGregor's return, a sentiment shared by UFC CEO Dana White, who recently remarked, "As far as [McGregor's] hunger? He's a very wealthy guy... We'll find out." McGregor has made headlines for enjoying his lavish lifestyle, and it's easy to see why he might not want to return to cage fighting.

McGregor on his Lamborghini Yacht / McGregor on Instagram

Coach Kavanagh is sure that McGregor's head is in the right place.

"He's got a lot going on in his life," Kavanagh continued. "He's doing this, he's doing that but I know a large part of his brain is always thinking about fighting, always watching fighting. If he's not physically training he's mentally training, no matter where he is in the world..."

Kavanagh expects a quick turnaround for McGregor, but only knows so much about the inner mechanisms of the UFC.

"I feel we'll be back there in no time at all," Kavanagh said. "... when exactly... I wish I had more to tell you, but that's all I know at the moment. It's set for a couple of months’ time. I heard Dana [White] recently kind of hinting that maybe he's going to release the date so hopefully he does but either way, if it's towards the end of the year or early in the new year, we'll be a hundred percent. We'll be bubble wrapping him and making sure no other little silly injuries happen."

So far, White has only confirmed that McGregor will be returning in early 2025. It's entirely possible that an announcement will be made this weekend at UFC 306, which is gearing up to be the biggest and flashiest combat sports event of the year, a platform appropriate for a McGregor reveal.

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