CONOR MCGREGOR’S coach John Kavanagh revealed he once ‘beat the s**t’ out of the Irish UFC superstar years before they became a world championship-winning team.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Kavanagh relayed the story where the red mist descended when McGregor dropped Irish women’s strawweight Aisling Daly during a sparring session.
UFC icon Conor McGregor pictured with coach KavanaghRefer to Caption
McGregor had already floored fellow SBG prospect Owen Roddy in training when the incident with Daly took place, back in 2007.
Kavanagh recalled: “It sounds worse than it was.
“He wasn’t hitting her in the head or anything, but just happened to throw a body shot that hit her in the sweet spot, the solar plexus, and put her down.
“I got a little emotional because Ais had been with me a long time and the other guys would look after her.
“But this new guy had come in and put her down, and my protective nature kicked in.
“I was still fighting at that stage, or hadn’t stopped that long, so I put the gloves on – actually, he has corrected me on that and says it was bare knuckles.
“But I held him down and beat the s**t out of him, without putting too fine a point on it.
“I kept hitting him in the body until he couldn’t breathe and then I looked at him: ‘What’s it going to be? We can train or we can fight?’ And he was OK from the next day.”
Training incident: Conor McGregor dropped Aisling Daly with a body shot
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The pair have since gone on to become one of the most successful fighter-coach combinations in mixed martial arts.
McGregor returned to the cage in 2020 after a two-year hiatus from the sport, when he beat Donald Cerrone in just 40-odd seconds.
However, at UFC 257 he was stopped by Dustin Poirier.
In their rematch in 2021 at UFC 264, McGregor was forced to concede defeat after breaking his leg.
McGregor is now looking for redemption ahead of a potential fight this year with Michael Chandler that could happen as early as September.
Conor McGregor will want redemption when he faces off against Michael Chandler this yearReuters
