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27 Years Later, Conor McGregor’s Coach Opens Up on ‘Humiliating’ Incident Before Girlfriend That Paved Way to MMA Career

Published 01/24/2023, 1:45 PM EST

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The famed MMA coach, John Kavanagh, is soaking in the success of his disciple, Johnny Walker, who had an impressive outing at the recently concluded UFC 283. Notably, the prominent coach holds the reign of instruction at the SBG Ireland gym. The Dublin-based gym has produced renowned MMA fighters, including the former UFC champion Conor McGregor, and Gunnar Nelson. However, the Irish coach’s MMA journey started because of a ‘humiliating’ incident that took place when he had only stepped into adulthood. Subsequently, the incident had a profound impact on the MMA pioneer who established the entity which later on became SGB Ireland.

Speaking to the journalist Ariel Helwani on his popular podcast, The MMA Hour, Kavanagh detailed the life-altering incident. In addition, he talked about his first trip to Brazil and answered the looming question of the return of the ‘Mystic Mac’.

The coach of Conor McGregor reveals his life-defining incident

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Helwani started the conversation as he pointed out the incident that the 46-year-old mentioned in his recent Instagram post celebrating UFC 283 success. Following this, the former ESPN associate inquired about the same from the noted MMA coach.

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The Dublin-born coach recalled he was out in Dublin on a weekend. And he came across a kid who appeared in trouble. Revealing that the kid was about to be beaten by a few guys, the BJJ practitioner also informed the host that he had practiced martial arts most of his life. Thus, the Irishman decided to step in and stop it and imagined it to pan out like the movies. However, the former MMA fighter admitted he ended up on the wrong side of a beating. But, the kid got away in the midst, and therefore, he achieved his goal.

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Later on, he contemplated the incident and added, “You know, being 18-19, it was pretty humiliating for me to get badly beat up in front of my girlfriend. And I, uh, I was actually, I suppose, looking back there, I described, I was in depression for a couple of months. I didn’t want to leave my house. I didn’t want to do anything.”

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Summing up, Kavanagh conceded he tried to research other ways of self-defense and fighting. And thus, during the process, came across UFC 1.

John Kavanagh Reveals ‘The Most Important Thing’ To Bring Conor McGregor ‘Out of the Silk Pants’

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What do you think of this incident of leading MMA coach John Kavanagh? Did you also find it inspiring? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Rohit Lohan

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Rohit Lohan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his undergraduate as a History major, he is currently pursuing LLB. Rohit is a big MMA fan and has been following UFC since 2017.
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Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty