Conor McGregor's trainer says: 'He's hungry again'

C. McGregor's trainer says the athlete is hungry Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @thenotoriousmma

One of the coaches Conor McGregor, John Kavanagh stated that the former featherweight (up to 65,7kg) and lightweight (up to 70,3kg) champion is really back. In a recent interview with 'Ariel Helwani's MMA Show', on 'ESPN', John admitted that the athlete lost his way amid celebrity life and found it difficult to motivate himself to continue in MMA and stay focused. In the last three years, Conor has played for the UFC on just four occasions.

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“He (McGregor) probably said it in the interview with Tony Robbins (North American speaker), where he talked about losing that (the will to fight) for a little bit. And this is a game in which he is complete, it is always about contact. It’s dangerous,” said John. “When he won the second belt by beating Eddie (Alvarez), he had achieved everything he wanted to achieve. He was very rich, he was world champion. So you have to stop for a while and think: 'well, what will motivate you to do this?', asked the coach.

Recently, there was a controversy involving Kavanagh and McGregor. At the time, Conor had expressed his desire to return to the octagon, but the coach stated that he would not train the athlete unless there was a good justification. John then tried to explain the situation and endorse what he meant.

“I think what I was really trying to say was that I really wanted to see him motivated. “He himself said that it (motivation) has become a problem,” said Kavanagh. “I think he will come back because of his love for the sport. He loves doing this. He loves training and competing. He still has the legacy of being remembered as one of the best. That's what I wanted to see, because besides being my student, he's like a younger brother. You wouldn't want to see him do something that would hurt him just for the sake of it,” concluded John.

Since becoming known worldwide as an MMA athlete and creating new forms of fight promotions, Conor has gained prestige with the UFC and has some perks within the company. As a result, the fighter is currently waiting for a big name to make his return to Ultimate official after almost a year away.

Conor is currently 30 years old and has a record of 25 fights, 21 wins and four losses. His last fight took place in October last year, when the Irishman was dominated by Khabib Nurmagomedov and defeated by submission in a duel valid for the lightweight belt.