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Conor McGregor’s coach jokes ‘jacked’ UFC star can return at MIDDLEWEIGHT and rules out ‘warm-up fights’ in comeback
CONOR McGREGOR is so 'jacked' he could return at middleweight - but will snub 'warm-up fights' in his comeback.
The Irishman has been hitting the weights recently as he continues to recover from his horror leg break sustained in July.
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McGregor has only just started hitting the pads again after having surgery and instead focussed on strength training.
And he is now so big his head trainer John Kavanagh joked he could fight at middleweight, with the pair soon to reunite again.
Kavanagh told : “He’s going to be back in the gym, he’s going to be back on the mats now in the next couple of weeks with me.
"He’s doing a lot of strength training at the moment. The guy's is jacked. I think he’s coming back as a middleweight (laughs).
"But he’ll be back on the mats with me now shortly and we’ll start off with combat sports training again."
McGregor, 33, first returned in January and was knocked out in a rematch with Dustin Porier, 32, who he had beaten in 2014.
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But in the trilogy bout seven months later, he suffered further misery after breaking his tibia seconds before the end of round one.
It was him lose by doctor stoppage and later go under the knife in Los Angeles before later returning home to Ireland.
McGregor has already hinted at a fourth fight with Poirier, who challenges for the lightweight title against champion Charles Oliveira, 32, on December 11.
But Michael Chandler, 35 and Max Holloway, 30, beaten by McGregor in 2013, are others to have called out the former two-weight champion.
Whoever he faces next year, it will be an opponent who sparks heavy interest, with money no longer a primary motivation.
He’s doing a lot of strength training at the moment. The guy's is jacked. I think he’s coming back as a middleweight.
John Kavanagh jokes about Conor McGregor's frame
Kavanagh said: “He’s not so much about warm-up fights.
“He seems pretty warm to me as it is. So, what will come, will come. He’s got a hundred opponents lined up it would appear.
"But let’s just get back training, let’s test the leg and test everything, and when the time comes, I’m sure he won’t be short of choice.
"Whoever he faces he’ll be highly motivated. It’s clear at this stage Conor has a few quid, he’s got a few dollars in the bank account.
"So, that’s not the motivating factor at this stage, his motivating factor is competition and to improve himself and to test himself against whoever it is.”
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