John Kavanagh pro MMA fight

Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh was a fierce fighter himself back in the day. Filmed at Cage Wars which was an event that prolific MMA promoter Patrick Mooney created. This fight symbolizes the deep roots of Irish MMA.
History of MMA®

[@Skoshtwo]

I wasn't sure it was actually him but that changed after he accidentally hit the man in the back of the head and immediately apologized.

[@jeremy745]

Me either in the beggining it didnt look like him.. But when he was getting his hand rasied I realized it was him in the face

[@racoonwolfe7747]

John seems like a really good guy, very humble. I hope he can create a few more champs under his wing.

[@JohnAbuklau]

champs that dont defend their belts

[@Cts_99]

@@JohnAbuklau but still get guys like you to talk about em

[@Jakariatiles]

@@JohnAbuklau OMG Your life is pathetic man

[@murphdc273]

Then he went on to be Supreme Court justice, what a career.

[@korylooper3170]

murph dc That's his brother dumbass

[@champchamp3075]

@@petchski We know, dumb ass... I just wanna be apart of this.

[@benjaminzaoui9683]

Brett dumb ass.

[@forcedentry2010]

Oh jesus. The stupid is very strong in some people and I don't mean the OP.

[@imtheabsolutegoat6497]

Ahhhh this is why khabib went for dillon and not john

[@MonsieurPhantastic]

Nepe king lol danis would strangle John in 20 seconds.

[@imtheabsolutegoat6497]

Nah john would hit em with the 1 2 mcgregor 3 4 mayweather 5 6 john kavanagh, thats all she wrote

[@js53]

Nepe king abso fucking lutely. john would hit khabib with a nasty kavanagh head kick and take khabitchs head clean off. no commission would be dumb enough to send khabib to his death bed

[@peace12th]

To be fair John is a respected man he didn't say bad things against Khabib or any one else ,it also appears that he's much skilled on the ground more than Conor.Dillon was the one saying shit to Khabib.

[@jachnoavhnvaon]

😂😂 Neither are worthy of sharing a cage with Khabib. Not even close.

[@pragatrana]

tremendous to see the roots of irish mma !!! respect !!!!!

[@bobbyrazak]

That you sir

[@cyberstatus575]

pragat rana "Irish MMA" like it's a ting

[@sevans606]

@@cyberstatus575 how is it not a thing Tommy you dumb swine?

[@sevans606]

timmy

[@amychaseaussie]

Send me Mc Nuggets - John Kavanaugh

[@cyberstatus575]

Damn he must have taught Nate that choke.

[@ofon2000]

No...I'm pretty sure Steven Seagall taught it to him.

[@nocomment1469]

@@ofon2000 "sensi seagal" ...show respect to a true legend , oh wait....

[@MarinePredators84]

@@nocomment1469 hey! Nobody shits there undies like sensi seagal!! Ask Gene Lebell...

[@torgrimsommerfeldt508]

yeah like nates coaches taught him to block punches with his jaw.

well he certainly did not teach conor that choke lol.

[@stephenosullivan6934]

John says his record was actually 9-3 not 3-3 as listed on sherdog.Record keeping was a bit sketchy in british and Irish mma back in the day unless u were on a bigger show like Cage Rage or Cage Warriors

[@Mr.Hyde_23]

Of course it was.

[@exposharpie]

Mr. Hyde you can hear the announcer say his record is 7-1 at that moment in time

[@joepesci8930]

Stephen O'Sullivan those sketchy shows always would register the lower end of the cards as exhibition bouts as a way to get around certain things and it wouldn't count towards your record

[@Mr.Hyde_23]

@@joepesci8930 They're technically not and shouldn't count as bouts anyway. All amateur bouts don't count towards your pro record. Dude is basically fighting all drunks off the stool with 2 weeks of training and no ground game.

[@Mr.Hyde_23]

@@exposharpie I see it all the time. Guys who go 7-0 undefeated as an amateur/exhibition bouts, then go pro and go 1-3 as a pro and retire. They then combine their amateur and pro record to inflate it.

[@Andrew-ux4ve]

Best coach in the game, the amount of coaches that would've changed to fit the McGregor image and he hasn't, stayed true to himself even while training a superstar.

[@cristobalbalenciaga7295]

Name one coach who have changed tp fit his fighters image..

[@queendeirdre7436]

How did I miss this until now! John K always a gent! Show Conor this! 🇮🇪

[@jariviitanen9485]

Kavanagh is such a tremendously likeable personality.

[@kylekennah1715]

That first shot he took to the head was brutal for the eyes and ears. What an animal to absorb it like nothing

[@JuveX0]

A warrior and a scholar!🙏

[@buncha1gays]

John absolutely knocked the shite out of that lad lol! I used to train under John back in 2010 and he's the world's best coach in my opinion. Had no idea he was capable of clapping dem cheeks like that.

[@allinyapik3792]

Amazing! John wrestles so much like Khabib!. submission and distance to land punches from the top

[@rudra3354]

Only if Conor cud absorb this

[@davidwalsh6680]

Ireland first black belt

[@irishpride9867]

In jui jitsu. Not Ireland s 1st black belt

[@theanarchy4003]

@@irishpride9867 thats what he meant dumbass

[@earthsgard]

Stop my father is 75 is good mate back in day was a black belt worked the doors in dublin .... take your head clean off your shoulders if you stepped out of line .... but he walked everybody out .... a real gentleman,you say some funny shit lol....

[@jonathan2755]

What makes u think he was ireland first black belt in jui jitsu.

[@davidwalsh6680]

@@jonathan2755 What makes you think he wasn't?

[@darknessfadestolight4312]

Dude ! First time I've seen this. Wow man John what a great fight man. If ya happen to see this. My friend considering where you come from this was very impressive mate. I can see in so many areas of this fight why John is such a overall great head coach. That was text book technical to a tee. Rode him out everywhere he whent. Fought up the half guard into side control. Well played my friend. Good hands for sure also. The boxing in Ireland right there. Let's see what Ireland produces next as far as champs or top contenders go. That Bellator kid is a total clown. Bad seed to the sport.

[@shaunm1983]

Didn't expect such good grappling

[@johntaylor6814]

Talk about Composure for a first fight!?. Magic 💪....

[@jacksonneomusic]

John Taylor The announcer says his record is 7-0 tho

[@joepesci8930]

Kavanaugh was also an accomplished wrestler who made it to the world championship finals one year

[@scarred10]

He never wrestled in any competition

[@joepesci8930]

scarred10 ask Ricky Lundell on Instagram if he wrestled him in the finals of the world championships

[@AcesWildMMA]

Would love to see you team up with Conor! That Lamborghini video was awesome!!! Have you done anything else with The Notorious???! Thanks again BOBBY!!!!

[@TarekElsakka]

I have a lot of respect for this man. Unlike the rest of Conor's camp, he's actually a really humble and decent human being and a true representation of MMA.

[@gabhandebrun1871]

Tarek Elsakka I know him Conor and most of there crew and there all good ppl and ppl forget this is the fight and entertainment biz you have to be able to sell yrself and no one does it better then Conor

[@martyleyeti]

When was that ? He shows quite some skills in that short amount of time

[@SPMUAYTHAI]

Half Guard, Full Mount, Take the back, flatens him & RNC. Good work.

[@Fluffyolphert]

He actually did it the madlad

[@rocksteady6793]

The bow at the end is the best

[@shadyxxx1876]

That poor lad who went to get a beer!!!! 😂😂😂😂

[@shrutefarms4741]

This was so cool to see his swagger!!!

[@FROSTYYY2K]

He looks so different then till now

[@Pazarvic]

Razak What happened to that bjj wrestling doc u made a while back?

[@bahrularifin6284]

Now I know why jhon literally said that he love to see khabib fight on JRE podcast 😁

[@Roman-tu3vh]

I like this guy a lot more than his fighters.

[@kalpottv9095]

Well am i the only one whose laughing by the fact that john can finish by RNC while connor got finished by it? twice!!! Btw i really like this cool guy haha

[@herrzyklon]

Referee is Fred Rado?

[@nathanlawton6569]

Kavanagh is the man

[@AJScraps]

So I see where McGregor learned to blatantly foul in MMA 😂

[@joshlane4141]

Dang he looked a lot more versatile then McGregor is lol

[@rtm1773]

The coach chokes out people while McGregor taps out to chokes. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@andrewthomson5930]

Different John cavanagh

[@user-tz8pf4pd4q]

What does the referee say the other guys record is??

[@kiernanist]

Awww~what a badass Coach Kavanagh was and is :)

[@frangaud]

You can tell he is Conor’s coach, Conor’s top game is just like John’s in this fight.

[@MrRobm81]

Conors top game lol wen was that?

[@nutpimple2143]

More likely the other guy getting choked

[@Lamedvavnik]

DON'T BE SCARED HOMIE obviously haven’t watched his fights

[@goonervillegonad3662]

@@Lamedvavnik You're right, I can see what you're talking about. Casual dickheads that only clicked on this video to talk shit about McGregor, wont though. MMA attracts the douchiest of 'fans' on earth, unfortunately.

[@MrRobm81]

Yeh unlike u, my first ufc was 47 chuck vs ortiz , the only top game conor has shown was against a kickboxer in dennis siver ,dont come at me casual .

[@dhalsim-1]

The other guy looks like Steve O

[@laylortarson]

He fights like khabib!

[@The_magic_mountain33]

Thats a real small cage! Wow no room

[@KyloBiz]

When was this

[@KyloBiz]

Also who is the opponent

[@bobbyrazak]

it was in around 2003-2004 in Portsmouth. My memory is terrible.

[@Jordddann]

2002 - his only win via rear naked choke and it was against Tamel Hasar www.sherdog.com/fighter/John-Kavanagh-3944

[@AnGhaeilge]

He has more fights that aren't on sherdog's fight finder. And it was certainly way before 2004, because John was retired by then.

[@ultreadygames]

what the actual, why isnt he teaching Conor this shit what in the fuck...

[@mentalglitch9603]

so cool

[@Iron-Lion16]

Wow. He is actually legit

[@kf5541]

Class act!

[@bigtalk7490]

Lads john is the man

[@anumanuva2431]

Tha wah greeh!

[@mchuntertotalhypnosis7960]

wow John who the man

[@maxadriaans7161]

class act

[@ndrsg3013]

A bit stiff but he did the job with little harm to his opponent, not bad

[@drewpeacock6234]

Mini Khabib

[@eltkovau]

Humble guy...me like

[@ChickpeaCity]

Wow .. that’s the size of my friends kids ball pond

[@youngOG87]

The Irish eagle?

[@christophertrevenenbrown5310]

beast

[@believe8263]

One of his only 3 wins. He has 3 losses as well.

[@Drderp-hd5bb]

flattened him out so quickly, didnt see the sub, looked like rnc

[@thetruth1167]

That guy gave up his back way to easily

[@huskie32]

look at how small that cage is lol

[@mistahac]

What a bad ass

[@vinnyb6192]

That cage is tinyyy sheeesh

[@TheKRAZYKID195]

There's a reason hes Conor Mcgregor's coach

[@braxtonvestal777]

McGregor clearly learned alot from him.

[@saadhussain6514]

He should be khabib's trainer💞 27-0! He is a good man

[@Smashpatate]

the new Conor McGregor 🍒

[@emmettoliver1135]

Same choke McGregor got done with

[@lukeytron]

Technically, this was a rear naked choke, and conor was beaten with a neck crank.

[@ayylmaio]

@@lukeytron Could be talking about the Diaz fight

[@lukeytron]

@@ayylmaio Well, you can use facts to prove anything that is even remotely true. (You are totally right)

[@tntk968]

Khabib style

[@NeRooTV]

Is Joe Rogan the Ref? Lol

[@shoto520]

Fights more like khabib than Conor

[@mrjuse5470]

BTW the dude Kavanaugh is fighting in this video is 0-1 and his name is Tamel Hasar. This was his first and only fight and dude is a joke. CM punk would have been a better opponent. You get no respect for for beating this guy.

[@plstrom]

not a bad fight at all.. he is good, the other guy is shit but he is good

[@highwaychess9014]

literally what khabib did to conor.

[@Rocky305MS]

John vs Ali bum ass make it happen put that as ur co main event. Also schedule Dillan and Artem Lobov against his brother that jumped the cage.

[@jurica84]

and he couldn't teach Conor how to defend the choke? :D

[@331whf9]

Lmao....at kavanaughs ground game....ur boy got smeshed

[@jacklee1616]

И че теперь он борцуха да

[@kingsofeire7448]

Eire

[@shay9118]

Whaaaaat

[@CaptainShoe]

At 2:09 you can see where Conor learned to cheat!!!!!

[@justinpelkey6722]

He has mount though

[@CaptainShoe]

You still can't grab the cage to better your position.

[@justinpelkey6722]

@@CaptainShoe Sounds like much ado about nothing to me.

[@mazdabongo7364]

Bored . . Hug fight

[@MakeMyDreamz]

dork hahaa

[@RKOzza]

Dork stomps you

[@Kaydeezable]

Man I love Irish fighters but they just didn't get blessed genetically....even with all that training. flabby

[@gabhandebrun1871]

Kaydeezable Who gives s fuck I’m Irish ☘️ and when I competed I was a feather weight all muscle but skinny but I could knock people out with twelve ounce gloves on gifted genetically means jack shit I’ve sparred wit blokes that we’re so called hard men coming into the boxing gym Muscled up and then my coach would put little ole me in with them and say gav take it easy and move around with them they were like he’s too small but the minute I gave them a clatter or four They know the lesson and that was leave your muscles and ego at the door 🚪 just cause you lift heavy and are built doesn’t mean you can fight moral of the story proven many times 🥊☘️🇮🇪🛡⚔️CBC

[@snapcapone4760]

True, muscle doesn't mean shit.

[@wodansam75]

you forgot to add "in my dreams"

[@scarred10]

Dude,go back to school.it has nothing to do with irish genetics,its diet and training,nearly every pro fighter has very low body fat regardless of country except heavyweights

[@mrjuse5470]

"Deep roots of irish mma" LOL!!!! Irish fighters are good strikers but can't grapple for shit or stuff takedowns. Especially escape mount. Notice nobody in Ireland has any idea how to escape mount!?!? You dont escape mount by giving up your back! (which is what Conor did twice and the fighter in this video did.) Not only that, these guys are getting mounted for like 3-4 seconds and flipping to their bellies and giving up their backs. You escape mount by staying on your back and either using an elbow escape to recover guard, or a trap and roll, or escape out the back, etc. What are they teaching over there in Ireland cuz all I see is guys getting hit once or twice in the face and flipping over. That is soft. S-O-F-T

[@sonarcreep3691]

Was this his only ever win?..🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣😂

[@jester4886]

Yes. He is absolute trash, as seen in the video.

[@sonarcreep3691]

@Joe Sudz wow! Another one with no sense of humour....lol

[@sonarcreep3691]

@Joe Sudz this is true. But calling people names on the other hand like "dumbass" and what not makes it personal. So I always have a level of respect for others. Hence why I'm not name calling..hahha

[@jester4886]

SonarCreep all he did was lay on him and hump him like a gay homosexual. if that's what you call "perfect" then you are obviously homosexual as well.

[@sonarcreep3691]

@@jester4886 hahah. Think you replied to the wrong fella there bud..aahh

[@bw4500]

3:01 "went for 5 minutes to get a beer and it finishes already man"

[@basharshami3403]

hahahahahahahaha

[@mohdip]

Looool smh

[@combatcontent1680]

Hah thanks for that

[@LitRollie]

😂😂😂swearr

[@bravonana10]

He said mate but yeah funny as fuck

[@donwilliamson7733]

The way he walked him onto the cage while he had him mounted.

[@Jack-th7tz]

Calm as anything

[@rb6981]

Owen roddy was a beast too Conor's striking coach go watch him guys

[@lulnug]

No one 5''7 is a beast. Except maybe Khabib.

[@aokproservice9324]

@@lulnug we'll see when Tony fights him

[@TheNathanX100]

In the wise words of Lulnug the nobody.

[@shaqoneill8069]

lulnug Khabibs a bum he fights like a pussy scared of a fight

[@johnnykool5083]

lulnug Khabib is not 5’7 tho

[@k4ze7]

0:36 Referee is high as fuck starting to get paranoid.

[@adamturner1563]

Didnt teach conor that one brother! ....

[@larjkok1184]

Are you fellating a horse in your pic?

[@MrNacer1997]

He taught him how to hold on to the fence at 2:08

[@thomo7651]

You cant teach anyone to stop khabib

[@handzofstone1152]

@Quantumax46 So in other words, he's like you. Lol

[@reinhardsmirnofsky2507]

15 secs into the fight I was like, wait.. doesn't he fight exactly like Khabib?! WTF??!! The irony of it.. lmao XD

[@ryu9687]

Literally the same

[@fatmunch6318]

Even the ground and pound on the cage

[@g3ntl323]

You can see much of the calm and confidence he influenced Conor with. Just a shame Conor skipped ground game day.

[@gabhandebrun1871]

Animus Miles-Militis It’s not that he skipped ground game he has decent ground game but John comes from a jj background And Conor comes from boxing back round so it’s a game of catch up for both sides Conor way more effective on the feet khabib and John on the ground Simple

[@lennoxforeman601]

The guy who paved the way for Irish mma. His book is a good read. He's come a long long way. #respect

[@diosantana2659]

if youre fighting in a laundry basket, you better know how to grapple lol. God that cage is small.

[@1ma4ighter]

oh shit! Kavanagh had a muay thai stance so you know he's striking was good AND he countered this brazillian guy's takedown and khabib'd him until a submission opened up! there was absolutely no need for Dillon! Why is macgregor's Grappling not this good yet?

[@sasukeahrim]

1ma4ighter true !

[@8jaytee]

because fighting some random dude on the undercard is not the same as fighting khabib