Conor McGregor’s longtime coach, John Kavanagh, said that his pupil’s days at lightweight are done unless “something really big” is offered.
McGregor started his UFC career at featherweight, moved up to lightweight, and then fought at welterweight, including in Saturday’s fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329.
According to Kavanagh, McGregor — now 37 years old, when it gets tougher to cut weight — prefers to stay at 170 lbs going forward.
John Kavanagh Says Conor McGregor Staying at 170 lbs
Speaking to mixedmartialarts.com, Kavanagh said that McGregor is staying at welterweight unless “something really big” is offered to him that would convince him to make the big cut back down to 155 lbs.
“You’re going to have to do something really big to get Conor at 155 again. 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?” Kavanagh said.
Could Justin Gaethje Be a Big Enough Fight?
That “really big” fight that Kavanagh referenced could be a dream matchup against UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who himself has admitted that he is open to fighting the Irishman if the UFC comes to him and offers the fight.
Fans would love this one, as it would feature two of the most dangerous strikers in UFC history going at it for five rounds or less to determine who the lightweight champion is.
That being said, just based on these comments from Kavanagh, it seems like McGregor would prefer to just stay at welterweight going forward, so he could potentially fight the winner of UFC 330’s welterweight title bout between champion Islam Makhachev and challenger Ian Machado Garry.
Of course, all of this becomes a moot point if McGregor fails to get past Holloway at UFC 329 this Saturday at T-Mobile in Las Vegas. If McGregor is going to fight for any UFC title in his next bout, regardless of what weight class it’s at, then he absolutely needs to get past Holloway first.
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