Conor McGregor had all the ingredients to be a champion since he first started training for MMA. His coach John Kavanagh saw him as someone who was obsessive about learning, and cocky yet respectful towards his teammates. Kavanagh, however, wasn’t able to ignite McG’s interest in wrestling and grappling. McGregor always thought he won’t need any BJJ or wrestling because he could strike his opponents out. Things, however, didn’t go according to his plan. In his memoir, ‘Win or Learn’, coach Kavanagh revealed the man and the incident that finally made McGregor take up grappling seriously.

The 38-second loss that changed Conor McGregor

Coach Kavanagh recounted in his memoir the fight that Conor McGregor lost to Joseph Duffy. Conor McGregor fought in Cage warriors 39. In 2010, this was McGregor’s biggest fight. While McG started bright and cut open a wound on his opponent Joseph Duffy, things didn’t go his way. McG was submitted soon by Duffy with an arm triangle choke. Kavanagh thought that the loss would be unbearable for McGregor and that he wouldn’t ever come back to training.

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The coach was left happily surprised when he saw Conor back in the gym the next day, willing to learn and correct his mistakes. He even wanted to learn about BJJ, grappling, and wrestling. The coach wrote, ” Joseph Duffy had succeeded where I had failed. He was responsible for Conor’s acceptance that grappling wasn’t an optional part of MMA. I’ll always be grateful to Joe for that.” 

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McGregor had lost before because he didn’t train in wrestling

His loss to Duffy was not a first. Conor McGregor had lost to Artemij Sitenkov in an earlier fight because he was just not interested in Wrestling. Despite his coach trying to tell him how important wrestling and BJJ skills were for MMA. The loss had almost ended McG’s career, as he refused to turn up to training. John Kavanagh had to step in to get him back to the gym.

The second loss, because of his lack of on-ground abilities, made him a better fighter. ‘Mystic Mac’ saw how important it was to know wrestling techniques for a fighter who wanted to fight world-class and he did better himself in that department.

Watch This Story: After Trouble with wrong people Conor McGregor revealed how Coach Kavanagh saved him from the point of no return