Conor McGregor’s longtime coach John Kavanagh remains perplexed about how the former two-division champ ended up a focal point of the UFC’s messy divorce with USADA.
“I didn’t understand that at all,” Kavanagh said this week on The MMA Hour. “That was a very strange one. I would’ve understood if, let’s say UFC was dropping USADA at the end of the year, and then there was a rumor, or not even a rumor, like an announcement — Conor’s fighting January 15th, something like that. You could understand USADA being upset then and saying, ‘Oh, so that’s why he left us.’ There was never talk [of that].
“There was only ever talk of, ‘OK, first [drug-testing] sample was given in a couple of weeks ago, whenever it was, and fast forward six months, that’s April.’ That’s all there was ever talk of. So when I saw those statements from USADA — and I mean, you guys over here [in the United States] are so litigious and everything — I was like, why are you [doing this]? It sounds very, I don’t know, bitchy or something. It’s like, at least wait for UFC to try and break the rule, try and get him in early, ‘Oh, we’re with a new company now so we’re hitting reset and he’s fighting in January or February.’ But they never did. So why would you throw it out there that they’re trying to do something when they weren’t? I don’t know.”
The UFC and USADA parted ways this past October, ending a drug-testing partnership that began in 2015 and will now run until the end of 2023. When news of the split first broke, USADA CEO Travis Tygart stated that the relationship between the two parties became “untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months.” In response, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell issued a fiery rebuke of what he called “disgusting” and “disturbing” claims by Tygart.
Campbell threatened legal action against USADA for Tygart’s statements and demanded USADA issue a formal apology due to what Campbell described as “material misrepresentations” made by Tygart — an apology which never came. Campbell and UFC drug-testing czar Jeff Novitzky also announced plans to partner with Drug Free Sport at the beginning of 2024 to continue the UFC’s drug-testing and anti-doping program, with former FBI agent George Piro selected to led the program as an independent administrator.
In that same press conference, Campbell said McGregor was “very upset” for the way USADA portrayed him in their statements, and Kavanagh can see why.
“I agree with him,” Kavanagh said. “Him being upset, saying, ‘I have the f***ing [USADA] jacket [for surpassing drug-testing milestones], I’m hoping and looking forward to fighting in April.’ Like, there was never any talk of trying to circumvent that rule. So, very odd.”
McGregor officially re-entered the UFC’s drug-testing pool on Oct. 8 and recently submitted his first drug tests since his reentry. He will be eligible to compete again on April 8, 2024, however plenty of uncertainty remains about his potential return date. Kavanagh said Monday that McGregor is “very frustrated” after the UFC informed him that its initial target date an April return has now been pushed back to “the summertime” of 2024.
McGregor has been champing at the bit for months now in interviews to get his return date officially on the books. A fired-up McGregor complained to reporters in October that he’s been “kept from my living for almost three years now.” Many have questioned McGregor’s sincerity and motivations considering his age (35) and the vast wealth he’s already accrued in his combat sports career, but Kavanagh said he’s had those conversations with the star.
“Yes, I have, and it’s kind of like what Volk said. I think there are certain people on this planet that are built to be in that environment,” Kavanagh said.
“That’s what he’s designed to do. For better or for worse, that’s just who he is. And he somewhat needs it. He loves it. He enjoys it. And it’s not forever. He’s whatever he is now, mid-30s — it’s not going to be for the next 20 years, but maybe there’s a couple of years and a couple of things he still wants to achieve and do. You know, he’ll blink, he’ll be my age and he’d be looking back, ‘Maybe I could’ve fought a couple more times.’ If you enjoy playing golf, you want to play golf. If You enjoy doing MMA, you want to do MMA.”
