Conor McGregor's coach indicates lightweight career may be over

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12 December 2015; UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor with coach John Kavanagh following defeating Jose Aldo. UFC 194: Jose Aldo v Conor McGregor, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA. Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE (Photo by Sportsfile/Corbis/Sportsfile via Getty Images) Conor McGregor and John Kavanagh have been joined at the hip throughout the UFC star’s fighting career and Kavanagh has some ideas as to how the next stage will go. This Saturday, McGregor steps into the octagon for the first time in five years when he faces Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two first fought in 2013, when McGregor won a duel of up-and-coming featherweights; for the rematch, they will weigh in at 170 pounds. McGregor has held titles at 155 and 145 pounds, but according to Kavanagh, he’s going to stick around at welterweight for the foreseeable future. “You’re going to have to do something really big to get Conor at 155 again,” Kavanagh told mixedmartialarts.com. “170 is a comfortable cut for him now and he’s got the frame for it. He certainly has the strength for it. He’s always had an unusual—he’s got that orangutan reach, so he’s comfortable at that. He can tie his shoelaces without bending down, you know?” McGregor has competed three times at welterweight in the UFC, splitting a memorable series with Nate Diaz in 2016, and scoring a 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in 2020 (McGregor’s last win to date). In his past two outings at 155 pounds, he was defeated by Dustin Poirier, with their trilogy bout ending in not only a loss for McGregor, but a broken leg that signaled the start of his long layoff. Regardless of how Saturday’s bout turns out for McGregor, he has previously stated that he has already spoken to the UFC about booking the last fight of his contract for April 2027. If Kavanagh had his way, McGregor would return much sooner than that. “How does the calendar look?” Kavanagh said. “I stay in my lane, I’m just the coach, but of course, I would like to see him busier than waiting until next April. We’re going to be done and dusted early July. So all going well, a little break and then back into it. “I would love to have something before the end of the year, but I’ll let the guys in the suits argue about that.” The question remains whether McGregor can capture a fraction of his past in-cage glory when he takes on Holloway this Saturday. Every fighter, fan, and media pundit has given their take on how McGregor might perform and what strategy he might employ to beat Holloway again, and Kavanagh has only one guaratnee. “A master class,” Kavanagh said. “That’s as much as I can tell you.”