Kavanagh: McGregor is ‘trying to make himself a better person’

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SBG Dublin head coach John Kavanagh keeps his faith in Conor McGregor, whom he believes is learning from past mistakes.

2019 was a year of legal troubles for Conor McGregor. From smashing a fan’s phone, to punching an old man in Dublin and being embroiled in alleged sexual assault investigations, it was quite a lot to handle for the UFC star, who did not step inside the Octagon the entire year.

But according to his long-time trainer John Kavanagh, fans are actually seeing a renewed and improved version of “The Notorious.”

“He’s spoken himself about his slips and his mistakes,” Kavanagh told RTE. “He’s had to pay for those outside of the sport. I feel we’re on a good comeback story - he had a great win in January - but yeah, like most things in life you take the good with the bad, you roll with it and try to improve, learn from mistakes and get better as a human being and an athlete as you go on.

”It’s a very weird rise from being an unknown guy in Dublin, doing a sport no one has heard of, to being a global superstar. Everything you say and do is analysed.

“He had to make his mistakes very publicly and visibly,” he added. “I’m proud of how he’s come through those things. He’s owned up to his mistakes. He’s trying to make himself a better person and I’m behind that.”

For Kavanagh, the bad publicity is only a part of the massive superstardom that McGregor currently enjoys. He also takes pride in the upsides of McGregor’s fame, which he helped build.

“I get stopped by 60-year-old ladies asking me how his wrestling training is coming along,” he said. “I know it was him who made it a huge sport in Ireland so I’m very, very proud of that.

”It comes with the territory. Negative headlines get more clicks than positive headlines. That’s just the media game.”

McGregor broke a 15-month absence in mid-January with a 40-second TKO win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246.