Conor McGregor is the most polarizing figure in combat sports today. First of all, he retired after feuding with the UFC. However, he hasn’t left the USADA testing pool so nobody believes him. Now John Kavanagh is stirring the pot and making fans get excited about a potential comeback.
The global health crisis trapped McGregor in his native Ireland. However, he is fit and ready to fight. But the UFC doesn’t want him in action until live gates return. This is because they will lose too much money and he is too big a draw. But that hasn’t stopped Kavanagh from talking about potential opponents.
One of the most interesting names is UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. The SBG Ireland head coach says that McGregor has enough skill to beat the champion wrestler. It’s highly unlikely we see that fight but who knows what could happen when the Irishman is involved.
KO Power
Kavanagh believes in his fighter. He thinks that McGregor would knock out Usman if they fought. However, with McGregor’s wrestling difficulties, it’s definitely a controversial take. First of all, he’d have to stop the champion from taking him down.
“That’ll be an interesting one,” Kavanagh said of a McGregor vs. Usman matchup. “There’s a fair size difference in there. Look, I’ll be honest. Anybody up to, around about his weight class, if there is a very motivated Conor I think he beats any of them. He has knockout power, he easily has knockout power up to that weight class. And if he was to put in a serious training camp, I think he wins,
I really don’t understand why you all want this man DEAD!!! I’d shag him in there if I wanted and he’d “DO NOTHIN” FOH 😒 pic.twitter.com/PvawNvX3Ru
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) May 25, 2020
Championship
In an interview with Brett Okamoto, Usman made it clear that he’s open to the fight. First of all, he said that McGregor looked very good against ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. He also thinks that the Irishman’s name value automatically gives him the right to a title shot. In short, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ wants to make a lot of money. He said:
“If Conor can make this fight happen, why wouldn’t we fight Conor? He just fought at 170. He looked great. Like Cowboy Cerrone beat a lot of guys that were ranked at 170. He did very well at 170 and Conor went out there and starched him. Obviously I like Cowboy, and he’s my guy. But Conor went out there and got the job done in less than a minute. So how can people sit here and say Conor is not deserving?”
Title Shot
He also thinks McGregor is afraid of him. We don’t blame ‘The Notorious’ because Usman is an awful stylistic match-up for him. If Jorge Masvidal was the champion it would be a different story for sure. In sum, nobody looks good against the current welterweight king. Usman said:
“I’m gonna give him the opportunity, if Conor wants, let’s do it. But Conor’s quiet now. Who says no to a title shot? I’ve never seen this in history, who says no when the champ says come and get your title shot. Unless you know you have no chance in hell of winning. This might change the landscape of your fighting career ever. That’s the only chance I can see people saying im’ma pass on that title shot right there.”
