Conor McGregor ‘should SACK John Kavanagh immediately’ if coach truly believes that there was ‘nothing concerning’ in first round domination by Dustin Poirier before leg break, claims Michael Bisping
- Conor McGregor suffered leg break and doctor’s stoppage TKO at UFC 264
- It was unfortunate and unsatisfactory end to his fight with Dustin Poirier
- Many believe McGregor was getting dominated before he snapped his tibia
- McGregor’s coach said he saw nothing to concern him in the opening round
- Michael Bisping believes McGregor should cut ties with John Kavanagh
Conor McGregor should cut ties with his long-time coach John Kavanagh, according to Michael Bisping.
McGregor suffered a broken leg at the end of the first round of his UFC 264 main event against Dustin Poirier and the doctor stopped the fight, meaning it goes down as a TKO win for the American.
‘Diamond’ had the better of the opening stanza and dominated despite a fleeting guillotine attempt and some early strikes landed for McGregor.
Conor McGregor (left) was struggling against Dustin Poirier (right) before the leg break
Michael Bisping, the first British UFC champion, rubbished McGregor’s coach’s verdict
After the fight, McGregor’s long-time coach John Kavanagh insisted he was please with how it was progressing and was not concerned, words that Bisping took exception to.
The pundit and first British UFC champion told BT Sport: ‘Just like his coach John Kavanagh said, he said “oh, I saw nothing that concerned me. I knew that in the second round we were getting the knockout. Nothing else in there concerned me at all.” If that’s true, John Kavanagh, Conor should fire you immediately.
‘That was very concerning, you were on your back and you were getting dominated. It was a 10-8 round, that’s concerning.
‘You don’t want to get your ass kicked, simple as that and that was what was happening.
‘The leg break was unfortunate. But, as I say it gives McGregor an excuse or a reason as to why the fight ended.
McGregor and Kavanagh have worked together since the very start of his MMA career
‘If that didn’t happen, come on the odds of him turning it around and finishing Dustin in the second round when round one is supposed to be Conor’s best round, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t a good performance.’
After the fight, Kavanagh, who has overseen McGregor’s rise from relative unknown to UFC superstar, said in an interview with Laura Sanko: ‘I wasn’t concerned at all, I was actually really, really happy.
‘And I knew what I was going to be saying between rounds. I was just going to tell him to keep doing what he was doing with the kicks and try to close a bit heavier this time.
‘So we’d be looking to, rather than exchange punches, to slide back and left hand like he did on Aldo. Look for those kinds of techniques.
Kavanagh has been heralded as one of the great minds of the sport down the years
‘Slide back left cross, slide back left uppercut, and kind of let Dustin fall into that kind of open space.
‘At the 4:30 mark, everything’s gravy. Energy looked good, technique looked good.
‘A few adjustments between rounds and I thought we were on track to getting a finish there or at least keep going, keep the rhythm going for the rest of the fight.’
Despite the sour taste left in the mouth from the nature of the finish, Poirier will move on to fight the champion Charles Oliveira in his next fight.
McGregor has been hit with a medical suspension until 2022 and has already undergone successful surgery on his broken leg.
He can return earlier than the suspension dictates with special permission from a doctor.
McGregor faces a long road to recovery and the lightweight division will move on without him