Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh revealed some deflating news about the Irish fighter’s return. Kavanagh made an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour to discuss several topics including McGregor’s return date and a coach’s unknown lifestyle.
McGregor has been making waves in the MMA world since his inclusion in the USADA testing pool was announced. Fans calculated that in six months he would be ready to fight and that would clash with the dates of UFC 300 around March-April 2024.
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However, Kavanagh explained that Notorious One’s return has received a setback. “We were hoping for April, that was the hope, that is what we were told, now it seems to be the summertime,” he said. The 46-year-old coach claimed Helwani suggested UFC 300 is already a massive affair and that it might not need McGregor’s presence.
He said, “Maybe you suggested that 300 is already big enough.” However, Kavanagh suggested Helwani’s argument had a logic. Helwani backed it up by explaining how UFC waited to bring McGregor back during the pandemic until they could sell tickets.
John Kavanagh says Conor McGregor’s return is now looking like it will happen in the summertime 📆 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/MBxDmL8tMT pic.twitter.com/0U9JGWcjWO
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 13, 2023
On the other hand, Kavanagh was not worried about McGregor’s mental health. Although it seems he is raring to go, Kavanagh claimed he is in good hands in training and can wait it out. “It’s a knockback that we were hearing April, but now it’s July. It’s not the end of the world. It is an extra couple of months. It’s not great, but hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment, let’s just keep that going.”
UFC analyst Chael Sonnen also weighed in on the UFC 300 fight card via X. He also believes Mcgregor will not be returning in April 2024.
UFC veteran Chael Sonnen believes Conor Mcgregor will not make a return at UFC 300
Sonnen explained in a YouTube video why McGregor vs Michael Chandler will not headline UFC 300. He referred to UFC 200 and claimed that Brock Lesnar was the top fighter but a title fight headlined it. He believes Israel Adesanya was the top pick for a main event fight against the UFC Middleweight champion at the time.
Current UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland will defend his title at UFC 297 in January 2024. Sonnen, on his X account, made his predictions for the UFC 300 fight card. He explained that no Muslims will fight on the card as the time clashes with the holy month of Ramadan.
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 14, 2023
For the main event, Sonnen carried over the Adesanya shouts from YouTube to X. Adesanya vs. the Middleweight champion is his pick for the UFC 300 headliner.
Other fights included Nate Diaz vs Dustin Poirier, Henry Cejudo vs Merab Dvalishvili, Julianna Pena vs Valentina Shevchenko, Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena, and Dominick Cruz vs. Petr Yan.
