McGregor Coach John Kavanagh Says Nate Diaz Trilogy Excites Him Most
SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh admits he’d like to see Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz trade leather for a third time.
The rivalry between McGregor and Diaz won’t soon be forgotten. Back in March 2016, Diaz submitted McGregor in the main event of UFC 196. The two ran it back in August of that same year. After five rounds of thrilling action, McGregor was awarded the majority decision.
John Kavanagh appeared as a guest on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show. During his appearance, Kavanagh said that McGregor vs. Diaz III is the fight he’s clamoring for the most (via MMAFighting.com):
“I always loved the Diaz trilogy. I’ve kind of said that from the start. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Nate looks in the fight that’s coming up [against Anthony Pettis]. That would be just, as a fan, very exciting. Justin Gaethje kind of reminds me of that similar style, you know he can take a tremendous amount of punishment and keep coming forward. Honestly if it’s Conor excited, and motivated, and pushing himself hard, it doesn’t really matter all that much to me. Anybody in the UFC at the level that Conor McGregor would be fighting are good opponents, they have different challenges. If you’re going to put a gun to me, it would be the Diaz trilogy. That would be for me.”
McGregor’s last bout ended in a submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov back in Oct. 2018. McGregor has blamed the defeat on a flaw in his game planning. The “Notorious” one said the focus was too heavy on defending and reacting to what Nurmagomedov was doing.
As for a potential trilogy bout between McGregor and Diaz, the Stockton native has said he isn’t interested in the match-up anymore. In fact, Diaz claims his time in the 155-pound weight class is done as he is the “king of that division.”
