John Kavanagh insists he isn’t trying to be disrespectful, but if you ask him a direct question, he’s going to give you a direct answer.
The Straight Blast Gym Ireland head coach is currently preparing longtime pupil Conor McGregor for his upcoming rematch with Dustin Poirier, which serves as the pay-per-view headliner of UFC 257 on Jan. 23 in Abu Dhabi.
While it hasn’t been announced yet, UFC president Dana White has admitted the promotion is hoping to book a co-main event between UFC newcomer Michael Chandler and former interim titleholder Justin Gaethje.
As the UFC often does these days with high-profile matchups, the idea would be that if anything happened to McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) or Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) – whether it be injury or something related to COVID-19 – Chandler or Gaethje could step up and save the main event.
When asked if he’s concerned about the challenges it might bring to McGregor if a last-minute change was needed, Kavanagh said it honestly doesn’t worry him too much.
“I think in terms of opponent difficulty levels, Dustin would be the top of that group,” Kavanagh recently told TheMacLife. “So if one is replacing Dustin, there’s no nice way of saying it, but it’s a slightly easier fight. Dustin is the best of those guys, in my opinion.”
Of course, Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Gaethje (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) are two names that are likely to remain on Kavanagh and McGregor’s radars beyond UFC 257. After all, should McGregor prove victorious, logic would dictate he’s likely to be involved in a lightweight title fight with one of them – unless of course, reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov does return from retirement.
Kavanagh admits he’d be thrilled for a second crack at Nurmagomedov, who submitted McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018.
“I think Conor and Khabib are the two best lightweights, and it would be for me, of course from a coaching perspective, it would be phenomenal to see that contest again,” Kavanagh said. “Will he come back? You’re asking the wrong guy. That’s Khabib. He seems the type of guy that if he says something, that’s it, but like Dana has hinted, it seems to me there might be some wiggle room in those promises made. So you know, time will tell.”
White and Nurmagomedov are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi ahead of UFC 257, so more will be known about the stakes of the matchup in the days prior. For now, Kavanagh said the team is focused on preparing for Poirier – and as far as he’s concerned, it should probably be for a UFC title, anyway.
“Right now we have a very exciting fight coming up in a couple of weeks’ time, and I think 2021, regardless of what’s next for Conor, it’s going to be an exciting year,” Kavanagh said. “I don’t know what the exact plan is, but I don’t really get why this one isn’t for the title, if I’m being 100 percent honest. Maybe it’s Dana; this is a little carrot towards Khabib. ‘Do you really want this guy to’ – I don’t know. I know those types of games that go on. I don’t involve myself in it. But this, to me, feels like it’s for the belt, but I guess, at the very least, the winner of this would be offered a title fight, but who would that be against?
“It’s a bit of a strange scene that we have in front of us, which makes it interesting.”
Coach: Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje ‘slightly easier’ for Conor McGregor than Dustin Poirier
