UFC star Conor McGregor backed to be ‘fantastic coach’ when he retires from MMA

The Irishman, 33, has two fights left on his current UFC contract

Conor McGregor will be a “fantastic” mixed martial arts coach if he pursues that venture once his fighting career is over, according to his head trainer.

John Kavanagh has been in McGregor’s corner for the entirety of the former UFC dual-weight champion’s stint in the promotion, and the 44-year-old has suggested that ‘Notorious’ could one day do the same for a budding fighter.

“I’m hoping he’ll fall into that role,” Kavanagh told the BBC.

“He is a fantastic coach. Back in the day, he used to take my boxing classes.

“It wasn’t that long ago, and he was walking through the gym and there was a beginner boxer class starting.

“He just walked in and went: ‘Oh, I’ll take this class today.’

“You could see everybody just froze and he spent an hour-and-a-half on the mat with absolute beginners, trying to perfect their jab. It was pretty amazing to watch.”

McGregor last fought in July, breaking his leg at the end of the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman is still recovering from that injury and is expected to return to the Octagon next summer at the earliest, having confirmed recently that he is set to be healthy enough to spar by April.

Kavanagh said this week that his preferred opponent for McGregor’s comeback contest would be Tony Ferguson or his fighter’s old rival Nate Diaz.