Coach: Conor doesn’t care – at all – who he fights on July 11
John Kavanagh: (Conor McGregor) opened one eye, said ‘They’re all the same’ and then went back to sleep. That’s as far as any negotiation went.”
“There is no opponent”
John Kavanagh
Some Native American traditions hold that each person is connected with an animal that accompanies them through life, acting as guides. Conor McGregor’s totem animal may be a Honey Badger.
Conor Badger don’t give a $#!^ who he fights, he doesn’t care.
McGregor’s head coach SBG Ireland founder John Kavanagh blogged for The 42 about the tumult surrounding Jose Aldo’s injured rib. As it stands, the fight is on, with Chad Mendes standing by to fight McGregor for the interim featherweight title if Aldo is unable to fight.
It was Tuesday afternoon when we learned that Aldo had more or less pulled out. But after seeing some medical specialists and, perhaps more significantly, being reminded of the cheque he’d be walking away from, now he’s back in. The last couple of days have certainly passed by in a bit of a haze, it would be fair to say.
From our perspective, it’s just nice that we’ve got something concrete and definite ahead of us again. Whether the opponent is Jose Aldo or Chad Mendes, either way it’s for a UFC belt at 145lbs in Las Vegas on 11 July.
At SBG we’ve become renowned for doing things a little differently in terms of some of the phrases we use, and one of those is ‘There is no opponent’. We never tailor our preparations based on opponents and this is sort of like the most extreme version of that you can think of.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission could stop this fight against Aldo on weigh-in day — the day before the fight. That’s when the pre-fight medicals are done. Aldo might still want it but the doctor can say no if he doesn’t believe he’s fit to compete. Then it’s basically out of the hands of Aldo, ourselves and the UFC. Enter Chad Mendes.
Mendes has been asked to make weight and he’ll be there, so it could be him stepping on the scales instead of Aldo for all we know. That kind of thing happens often at small regional shows, but this is for a UFC belt. That’s no big deal for us, though. It’s kind of exciting, to be honest. Who’s going to be on the scales when we turn up to weigh in? We won��t know until the day itself.
For most people, switching between two different types of opponent like that would be an absolute nightmare. But it would be hypocritical of us to complain about that and allow it to have an impact, so we’re staying true to our regular philosophy when it comes to opponents. And I believe Conor will end up fighting both of these guys at some point anyway, so what difference does it make?
Ultimately, a man with two arms and two legs will be standing across the octagon from Conor on 11 July. Whether that man’s name is Jose or Chad, nothing changes for us. I’m confident that Conor has the solution to both problems. At this level of mixed martial arts, I believe a fighter should be ready for any opponent at the drop of a hat.
It was UFC president Dana White who called me and asked how we felt about Chad Mendes stepping in to fight Conor for the belt. Conor was sleeping at the time so I walked into his room and told him it could be Mendes instead. He opened one eye, said ‘They’re all the same’ and then went back to sleep. That’s as far as any negotiation went.
What did we do when the news about Aldo’s injury broke? We went to the TUF gym, as usual, and Conor had what I believe was his best sparring session since we’ve been here in Las Vegas. Instead of expending our energy on speculation and rumours, we continued as normal and 24 hours later things were back on track.
It’s the very same for Gunnar Nelson. His fight was actually changed while he was asleep. He woke up late that day, I told him he had a new opponent and instead of asking who it was (Brandon Thatch), he just said ‘Oh, okay’ and then went about making his breakfast. I’m very proud of the guys for being like that.
It’s a bit of a throwback to the early days. My first ever fight was in England and the opponent just didn’t bother showing up. They found a guy in the audience who was a good grappler so I fought him instead. It’s one of the lessons of MMA to make sure you don’t get too obsessed about who you’re facing, because it could change on the scales
Many thought if Aldo dropped out, he should be replaced with Frankie Edgar. “The Answer” was naturally disappointed that it was Chad Mendes.
Frankie Edgar @FrankieEdgar
Disappointed I wasn’t the stand by guy. Felt it should of been me, think a lot of you feel the same. Thanks for all the support.
And Mendes was, naturally, ebullient.
chad mendes @chadmendes
Everything happens for a reason and I ain’t no bitch!! Haha LETS DO THIS BABY!!! #illsavethisshow #anytimeanyplace #hatersgonnahate