IRISH UFC FIGHTER Conor McGregor is on the right track as he steps up attempts to regain to full fitness, according to his coach.
The SBG featherweight won his first two fights in the Octagon earlier this year but after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the victory over Max Holloway in Boston over the summer, he required surgery in September and has been recovering in the US ever since.
UFC president Dana White has confirmed that they will host an event in the third quarter of 2014 with McGregor pencilled in to for a homecoming fight. Whether or now he will make his comeback before then however, depends on how well his rehabilitation goes.
Speaking to TheScore.ie yesterday, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh praised his determination.
“He is meeting or exceeding all markers,” Kavanagh said. “By the time he’s back in Ireland he will basically be able to train most of the elements at a light controlled pace and finish off the remainder of his physio here.
“He’s well on track and mentally is very strong and staying positive which is a huge part. You hear stories of people slipping into depression and gaining loads of weight or not following their physio but he has approached it with the same level of gusto that he would approached approach a jiu-jitsu class – like a pro.
“It really depends on the next three or four months. As far as I’m aware, they’re going to be here in September. I haven’t had anything confirmed but let’s say they are. They won’t want him fighting at least four months before so he will have to fight around March.
If he is ready by then, I can see them getting him a fight. If he’s not ready, then they won’t put him on in May, June or July as they won’t want to risk him being hurt before the Dublin card.
“We’re going to have a much better idea around late February.”
The UFC’s return to Dublin for a second event, the first was in January 2009, will hopefully allow Irish fighters to showcase their talents on a world stage. Kavanagh is optimistic of having a number of fighters competing on the night.
“I’m sure Norman Parke will be there. He has been doing very well lately with a bunch of wins in a row. I’d be very surprised if I had less than three fighters but I think I could have five or six. It really depending on how the next few months pan out.”
Away from fighting, Gregor recently got a new tattoo of a gorilla – the SBG team symbol – on his chest.
“He’s a nut,” Kavanagh laughs. “He half-mentioned it and I wasn’t really paying attention then I saw a picture of this lunatic sitting on the toilet with a massive gorilla on his chest. When Conor hasn’t got MMA training to distract him he does other stuff.
It’s kind of cool though. I don’t think people will look at it and say ‘that’s Straight Blast Gym’. It just looks like a gorilla, eating a heart, wearing a crown.
It’s not like Paul Kelly’s one that just says ‘Wolfslair’. You may as well get Nike print across your forehead. This is more generic.”
