Irish Fans ‘Harassed’ Dana White Into Giving Conor McGregor a Shot in UFC; Coach Kavanagh Recalls

When Conor Mcgregor got a call from the UFC offering him a contract back in 2013, the Irishman was training in a makeshift cage in a warehouse in his native Dublin, Ireland. Before joining the world’s biggest MMA promotion, ‘Notorious’ had been making waves in the European MMA scene.

He had become a concurrent two-division champion at Cage Warriors, and his natural charisma, showmanship, and striking prowess were apparent for everyone to see. However, despite this, McGregor did not get a call from the Dana White-led promotion until early in 2001. ‘Mac’s coach, John Kavanagh, revealed in a recent interview that it was the fans who played a crucial role in getting McGregor signed to the promotion.

Conor McGregor coach reveals fans ‘harassed’ Dana White into signing ‘Mac’ to the UFC

Today, of course, one cannot think of Conor McGregor without thinking about the UFC. The Irishman became, by far, the most popular fighter in the history of the sport after joining the Las Vegas-based promotion. Not to mention the role he has played in taking MMA from a niche bloodsport sport to a mainstream sport, which has become one of the top four sports in America already!

McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, thinks this may not have been possible without the Irish fans “harassing” the UFC boss into giving the Dubliner a spot on the promotion’s roster. While calling on the UFC to sign his SBG Gym student and Invicta champion Danni McCormack to the promotion, Kavanagh felt that the fans needed to follow the same playbook that got ‘Mac’ a spot on the UFC roster.

“It [the situation with Danni McCormack] reminds me a little bit of back in the day when all the Irish MMA fans almost harassed Dana into giving Conor an opportunity. So if you guys can get on top of that and just keep the word out there, the guys do listen,” he said.

You’d be surprised how much the UFC top brass follows what’s happening in the media. They follow on who’s getting the momentum behind them,” Kavanagh told ‘SevereMMA’ in an interview. And amid Kavanagh’s revelations, let us take a look at how exactly the fans convinced Dana White to sign Conor McGregor to the UFC.

How did the fans convince Dana White to sign ‘Notorious’?

Back in 2013, Ireland was not seen as a big MMA hotspot. There was only one fighter from the Gaelic country signed to the promotion, and the UFC did not have the type of regional infrastructure it does today to scout talent and bring them to the promotion.

However, when UFC boss Dana White came to Ireland in 2013 to collect an award, he was bombarded by Irish MMA fans with requests to sign Conor McGregor. Given the then-CW double champion’s popularity, White decided to look deeper into McGregor. He was, at once, impressed by the Irishman’s striking prowess, charisma, and ability to sell fights.

Recognizing his talent and superstar potential, White spoke to then-UFC CEO (and Zuffa co-owner) Lorenzo Fertitta to sign McGregor. The casino baron was on board and gave White the green light. And McGregor, training in a warehouse in Dublin, got the fateful call offering him a UFC contract just days after White’s return from Ireland. The rest, as they say, is history.