MMA coach John Kavanagh did not find Conor McGregor fit for the UFC fights. Instead, he ended up choosing another fighter for Ireland’s representation. All of this happened back in 2009 when the UFC was coming to the Republic of Ireland for the first time. The event was going to be UFC 93, which would feature “legends like Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Maurício Rua, and Mark Coleman.” It was good news for MMA enthusiasts, as it would turn up the notch for the sport in the country. By this time, UFC had developed into the best MMA league in the world. And for Kavanagh, getting his fighters into the UFC would set his own career on the right path.

Although he was enthusiastic, Kavanagh did not see Conor McGregor as the right fit for the event. Instead, the coach looked forward to sending Tom Egan to represent Ireland. There were a few underlying reasons for the coach’s harsh decision.

Choosing Tom Egan over Conor McGregor

What exactly did John Kavanagh have in his mind while making this decision? Kavanagh has his reasons for not entrusting ‘The Notorious’ with this job.

In his autobiography, ‘Win or Learn’, the coach wrote, “In my mind, there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt about Tom Egan being the right man for the job.“

A few months before the event, ‘The Notorious’ had scammed his coach for €500. After that, he did not return his calls or visit him. When almost after a month McGregor’s mother called Kavanagh to help her son, he found his former disciple in the most unfit condition ever. He found that McGregor had lost all his training and needed to start from a new end. Considering the comparatively new lack of trust and also the loss of training, John Kavanagh did not find it right to choose Conor McGregor to fight first time in the UFC. 

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As a result, he instead chose a fighter one year younger than McGregor, Tom Egan. The first Irish UFC fighter would later be nicknamed ‘The Tank’.

Tom Egan’s debut opened the path for Conor McGregor

In 2008 John Kavanagh received a letter from the gym’s landowner to empty the place. This was because the area was industrial and the factory workers worried about the kids running in and out of the gym. Consequently, he had to shift just when his business was picking up the pace.

So, this sudden opportunity given by the UFC could really help Kavanagh. He was sure to send Egan from his gym into the UFC. He felt Egan was the only fighter in the whole country who could represent Ireland fairly.

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“For weeks I bombarded him (Joe Silva) with emails, explaining why Tom Egan was the fighter he needed to represent Ireland.” He got hold of Silva, UFC’s matchmaker, and convinced him to let Egan fight in the UFC.

Although the fighter lost his debut match, he opened up several opportunities for others. One of the greatest examples is his batch mate, Conor McGregor, who went on to break UFC records.

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