Coach: McGregor will be the GOAT, and two or three division champion

UFC featherweight Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh recently did an interview with Peter Carrol for Ireland’s SevereMMA. Kavanagh is Europe’s leading MMA coach, with four fighters in the UFC, and Aisling Daly on TUF 20.

As you might expect, the coach is very confident McGregor will beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 on Saturday, live on PPV.

It’s a little bit difficult to call this one, but I can see it being pretty quick,” he said. “There are so many factors that we don’t know that go on behind the scenes that make any fight hard to predict. However, I have had conversations with Conor and we’ve both come to the same conclusions of what’s going on in Dustin’s head. Conor is living rent free in a lot of young guys’ heads.”

Winning the fight is however just the beginning of the coach’s predictions.

It’s hard to put in words why I think he will be remembered as the greatest of all time,” said Kavanagh. “I do think that he will definitely be a two weight world champion, that’s a given, and I think with a certain set of circumstances he will be the first and only three weight division UFC champion. That would be at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.

It’s not hard for me to imagine that scenario. I think two people have already done it in two weight classes and even then they did in a time that was a little different – the skill set was a little bit lower.

BJ Penn’s accomplishment was impressive at lightweight and welterweight though. There is an argument that he could’ve done it at featherweight had the division been around longer, but he is done now. I can see Conor doing it at three weight classes anyway.

“Everyone in the UFC is an ideal opponent for Conor. They really don’t have any idea what’s coming for them. It doesn’t matter if it’s a smothering wrestling style or dynamic striking or submission style. It will make more sense after September 27 what I’m saying, but everybody is an ideal opponent.”