CONOR MCGREGOR’S COACH John Kavanagh has followed his fighter in flouting the chance to make excuses after the shock UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
After the scheduled 155 lb bout with Rafael dos Anjos fell through due to an injury to the Brazilian, McGregor and Diaz eventually agreed to a duel at 170 lb.
“I don’t think the weight made a difference,” said Kavanagh.
“If it was 155 it wouldn’t have made a difference. If you’re fighting someone like that and you’re inefficient, that’s what the result is going to be. I don’t think it played a part. Nate was the better guy on the night.”
Attempting to describe why McGregor was second best to the American, Kavanagh explained:
“A lot of things were working. I did think he was loading up a bit on his left hand. Especially if you’re facing a same-stance fighter - Nate’s good at using the shoulder roll boxers use to defend themselves.
“(With) a lot of the big lefts, he wasn’t catching him flush. They were bouncing off the shoulder or Nate was moving with the shots, so they weren’t having the impact they’d have on an opposite-stance fighter or someone who isn’t as skilled as Nate.”
That urgency to unleash the big left that ended Jose Aldo’s reign as featherweight champion, Kavanagh feels, was McGregor’s undoing this time around.
“In between rounds I said: ‘you don’t have to take him out with one shot, no need to load up on the big hand’.
“We don’t want to only rely on that. If there’s something to critique and take away from that fight, and Conor immediately said it, it’s that Conor was inefficient with his shots and Nate was efficient.
He blew himself (out) a little bit trying to take his head off with every left hand rather than just landing it. Maybe I could have stolen his own phrase and told him ‘keep it flowy.’ But that’s how it went down.”
He added: “I’m with Conor a long, long time, I’ve seen him do an inordinate number of rounds in the gym and I’ve never seen him breathe heavy. I went in and he was breathing heavy and I was a bit taken aback by that.”
Despite defeat, McGregor remains the UFC featherweight champion and a marquee draw for the organisation. His next opponent will be a subject for much scrutiny over the coming weeks, but for Kavanagh, he would like to see McGregor revisit his rivalry with Jose Aldo.
“Me personally, Aldo rematch,” Kavanagh said when asked his preference.
“The first one, obviously was great for us, but it was a little bit unfulfilling. I didn’t think it closed the chapter on that. I think it would be a nice fight to watch and a good challenge.
“For me, because I think I’d learn so much watching it – I’d get a year’s worth of material to coach with – that would be my preference.”
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