John Kavanagh Reveals Conor McGregor's 'Curiosity' During Khabib Fight

Conor McGregor has announced that he plans to fight sometime in 2019 in the 'Octaring', presumably hinting that he is prepared to fight in either boxing or MMA.

The Notorious tweeted the news in response to a fan that he will make his comeback next year, while also giving a plug to his whiskey brand which is set to be released in the UK and Australia in 2019.

2019 is when we launch in the U.K and Australia!
2019 is when I will also be back inside the OctaRing!
We are very excited!
Thank you for the support brother ? https://t.co/jVm7ujWIvq

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 25, 2018

In other McGregor related news, the fighter's coach John Kavanagh appeared on the True Geordie podcast recently and gave an insight to McGregor's gameplan for his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC229.

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Nurmagomedov won the bout with a submission in the fourth round, and never looked in trouble against the Dubliner, routinely taking him down in each round of the bout.

McGregor never seemed to be too cautious in avoiding a takedown and Kavanagh revealed on the podcast that there were slight disagreements between the pair on how to approach the fight, with McGregor seemingly intent on feeling the clinch with his foe:

He did want to feel the clinch early, we maybe had slight disagreements on the strategy. He was like 'go on go for your takedown. let's feel the clinch' and he actually had a great moment in the openings of that (first) takedown exchange and he ended up on top and then Khabib did a great job of reversing it.

I don't know, again it's his competitiveness.... 'The guy is great at kicking, let's exchange kicks, let's see what that feels like. Whatever area you're great at, right, come on!'

I don't know if it's ego, I don't know what it is. I think it's curiosity.

Brian Davis pressed Kavanagh on McGregor's comments after the fight regarding his strategy. The 30-year-old posted an Instagram where he broke down the bout and criticised his own gameplan in retrospect:

I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won’t happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To defense minded. Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice.

View this post on Instagram

Thoughts on my last fight. Round 1. I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his. Top position against the fence. Zero position advancement or damage inflicted. But top position. From a fight standpoint the first round is mine. Actual shots landed and a willingness to engage. Straight left early. Knee to the head on the low shot. Elbows in any and all tie up scenarios. Opponent just holding the legs against the fence for almost the entire round. Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight. It was a nice shot. After the shot I bounced back up to engage instantly, but again he dipped under to disengage. That is the sport and it was a smart move that led to a dominant round, so no issue. Well played. If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now. I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won’t happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To defense minded. Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice. Round 3. After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage. Round 4. My recovery was not where it could have been here. That is my fault. Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square. What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared. If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all ❤

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:11pm PDT

Kavanagh admitted that he didn't know what the lightweight meant by the post, stating that he hasn't seen much of McGregor since the fight, though he blamed the lack of communication on their hectic schedules.