Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has insisted that the UFC legend has maintained his motivation ahead of his UFC return, branding his fighter as "obsessed" about the sport.
The Irishman is a former two-weight world champion, and will have spent over two years out of action when he makes his comeback against Michael Chandler later this year. He will coach alongside Kavanagh opposite Chandler and his team on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter before they fight at season's end in a massive pay-per-view clash.
Kavanagh admitted that he had concerns about his fighter's motivation after becoming a massive superstar, winning world honours twice over and making obscene amounts of money. But he has been spending more and more time with McGregor over the last few weeks, and was pleasantly surprised by the intensity of his training.
"He's never stopped training," Kavanagh told Sean Sheehan on the latest episode of Sherdog's The Sheehan Show. "I was only out in Crumlin with him recently and he was in phenomenal shape. There's a real excitement about him, a real buzz and I'll be honest, that was part of the, I won't say 'worry', for me.
"I was saying 'what will be the level of motivation when you've achieved the titles, the money etc?' But man, I've never seen him as pumped as I've seen him recently. I'm just really excited. He's excited to be back I'm excited to have him back it's great for Irish MMA in general and it's fair to say for MMA in general to have him back this year. It always adds a bit of extra buzz to the scene.
"I have zero concerns about motivation. The motivation is there to show everybody that this is his world, his game. He's got a lot - a lot - going on in his life but I can message him any time day or night with a fight sequence and go 'hey what do you think of this?' And I get an immediate reply. He's still obsessed about the sport, I haven't seen that interest wane at all."
Who do you think wins; Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Chandler has been pushing for the fight over the past few years since signing with the UFC, and even his three octagon defeats haven't done anything to stem interest in the clash. The pair are keen to put on a show in their meeting, with Chandler known for his striking showcases despite a deep wrestling background.
"I think either way Conor gets the win regardless of his approach," Kavanagh joked when asked if he expects Chandler to lean on his wrestling or go for a 'fight of the year' brawl. "Before when he was with Bellator that was his make-up, I think it's in him with his big powerful punches and big powerful wrestling moves.
"He wouldn't be the slickest striker and the grappling is kind of big double legs. It's not like an Oliveira-style submission game or the likes of Islam [Makhachev] with the clinch game. It's sort of that he's effective with brute force and a lot of power. Actually, I think it could resemble a little bit the Mendes fight."
