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Ahead of the most awaited fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, ‘The Notorious’ seems to be gearing up well, according to his coach. Even though the fans are not impressed with his training videos, the ex-UFC champion and ‘Road House’ actor got all the praise from his mentor John Kavanagh. His coach also recently gave his prediction on the UFC 303 fight against Chandler.

The Irishman is going to fight Chandler in a five-round, welterweight bout on June 29 in Las Vegas. In a recent interview with SevereMMA, the SBG Ireland head coach gave his insight on the upcoming fight and where his pupil stood in terms of preparation for his comeback to MMA.

John Kavanagh has high hopes for Conor McGregor

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The head coach has been with ‘The Notorious’ since day one and is positive about his preparation. Even though the 35-year-old was on a three-year hiatus due to his injury, Kavanagh seemed confident about McGregor’s conditioning.

When asked about how McGregor was training and preparing, he said, “You know um but for martial arts I feel like I have a trump card. I can always like send him a highlight, send him a technique, talk about a guy that we have in here training for him whatever and I’ll always pop to the top of the list.”

He also complimented McGregor and said that the former double weight class champion was good at “compartmentalization.” He also defended the fighter, saying, “…Whereas you know training is realistically it’s maybe two 1-hour sessions a day. That’s plenty of other time in the day where he can be focused on other areas, so when you’re in here; you’re on for the hour you’re on for the 90 minutes and then when you’re gone, you’re on for whatever it is you’re doing out there.”

This take from Kavanagh puts things in perspective for fight fans. A few weeks ago, during an interview with Ariel Helwani, McGregor said that he would not mind a three-round fight for his comeback. This surprising take from the former ‘champ champ’ was well-received, since he seemed to be taking a realistic approach to his return, starting off slow and not demanding main event spots. But when you’re the promotion’s biggest PPV star, it seems non-main event fights might be a luxury you cannot afford.

McGregor has been consistently uploading his training sessions on social media sites and there were no signs of struggle in him. His coach seems confident about his strength and recovery from injury.

Kavanagh is confident about Conor McGregor’s performance

“The Notorious” is gearing up for his comeback after a long hiatus due to his shin fracture in the last fight with Dustin Poirier. However, the new Hollywood star and veteran UFC fighter is ready to step into the Octagon at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler. This clash is supposed to happen in the welterweight division and McGregor is hoping to capitalize on it. However, some people still had doubts that he did not recover from his injury completely even after three years.

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According to his coach, these rumors are harmless. Kavanagh explained, “He’s looking super sleek out there. There are fighters who, when they’re not fighting and after a while, it’s difficult to explain to somebody, a lot of guys watching this that are 15, pro fighting, it starts becoming a job.” He also explained that McGregor’s love and passion for the sport helped him in his healing journey.

 

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Even so, the coach is not taking any chances, even if McGregor seems to be in good condition and is making the fighter train hard. McGregor has a titanium rod inside his leg due to his injury and the Irishman is not taking the cautious approach. Ever since he had the surgery, he’s likened himself to ‘The Terminator’ hoping to add this reinforced leg to his arsenal.

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He revealed the same during his recent appearance on James Corden’s ‘This Life of Mine’ that he wanted to wrap his surgically repaired leg around his opponent’s head. So don’t be surprised if the first strike he throws in his comeback fight is a devastating head kick.