McGregor's trainer thinks Irish star has had a 'resurgence in passion' but is 'paying for his mistakes'

CONOR McGREGOR'S long-time trainer John Kavangah revealed the UFC star has a “resurgence in passion” – but is also “paying for his mistakes”.

McGregor, 30, has had a turmoil time since he last fought in the UFC, an October submission defeat after four rounds against arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, also 30.

After receiving a six month suspension for his part in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl, McGregor’s time on the sidelines have seen him arrested, retire and engage in a bitter online feud with Nurmagomedov.

But after tweeting his fans “see you in the octagon” UFC president Dana White confirmed this week he and The Notorious are set for talks in a bid to map out the Irishman’s octagon return.

McGregor’s SBG coach Kavangah, who has been with the Irish star since his 2008 debut, told The Late, Late show how his star pupil has found his passion again – despite paying the price for his array of mistakes.

Kavangah said: “He has made mistakes that I absolutely don’t condone. I know he regrets them, he’s paying for them, he’s trying to learn from them, he’s trying to move on.

“Training MMA for fitness or recreation is fun, but training for professional fighting is very tough, it’s very tough on the body.

“You’re losing all the desire to do those things because it’s either about winning titles or making money, he done those, so what was going to keep motivating him, to keep putting him through that grind?

“I think there has been a resurgence in his passion and his love and I think if the right contest comes along, something that’s very interesting to him, a good challenge, something that will get the crowd going.”

Despite announcing a premature retirement from MMA two weeks ago, the former two-weight UFC king seemed to reverse that decision just four days later.

Having witnessed McGregor previously “retire” after making a Twitter announcement in 2016, only to fight Nate Diaz four months later, Kavangah is certain The Notorious will return to the cage again.

Kavangah said: “I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t fight again – it could be even the summer.

“I hope we go back to doing the positive things; the goal setting, the work ethic, going for something that seems impossible.

“Those are the qualities I love in Conor, that I love talking about when I’m in the kids’ classes.

“I’m conscious of the fact that I need to set a good example for them and I know Conor does as well. That’s what I want to get back to the many, many positive qualities that he has.”

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