Conor McGregor's coach says December date is a "green light" despite Dana White's recent update

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor's head coach, has expressed his belief that a December return for the former UFC two-division champion is feasible despite recent comments from UFC CEO Dana White.

White had previously suggested that McGregor's return might be delayed until early 2025, citing his extended time away from the octagon and concerns about his motivation. However, Kavanagh, speaking in an interview with Lucky Block, remains optimistic about McGregor's readiness.

"No, definitely [December will not be too soon.] If the date came back and was confirmed for September, we’re already in heavy training, although we’re training remotely together at the moment, he’s stateside on I believe a Forged Irish Stout tour. He’s visiting a couple of breweries over there and partners, et cetera, but we’re still sending each other training videos, training plans."

Kavanagh added that McGregor has been training with partners in the United States and that he appears to be in excellent physical condition:

“He’s got some training partners over there and the footage I’m getting back, he shared some of it recently, he’s looking very sharp to me. If the date was in December, it would be a green light for me anyway.”

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Coach John Kavanagh backs Conor McGregor's political ambitions

John Kavanagh has publicly expressed his support for Conor McGregor’s potential political aspirations, affirming that his fighting career will not be compromised by any interference.

Recently, Conor McGregor expressed interest in potentially running for the Irish presidency in 2025. He outlined his plans to address the country’s challenges and implement political reforms. His coach, Kavanagh, is confident that McGregor can effectively balance his political ambitions with his MMA career.

In the same interview with Lucky Block, the coach said:

“One thing I will say about him, he’s incredibly effective and always has been at compartmentalisation. The reality is, with the physical side of training for MMA, you might be talking about three hours or four hours a day. You’re not 10 hours in the gym and then you’ve no time for anything else. It’s very intense for the one, one and a half hours and then we do that twice a day."

Kavanagh emphasized that McGregor's training sessions are intense but focused, allowing him to dedicate time to other pursuits.

“That session is very intense but then outside of that, look at all he’s achieved outside of his fighting while running the boat at the same time. If anybody could do it, it would be him.”