Coach Kavanagh: Rafael Dos Anjos “won’t see the end of the first round” at UFC 197

John Kavanagh has written a column for the42 in the wake of the UFC’s announcement that Conor McGregor will fight Rafael dos Anjos on March 5th at UFC 197 for the UFC lightweight title.

Kavanagh began by saying that the chance to make history by being the first UFC fighter to hold two belts at once is why they wanted to fight dos Anjos “if there’s one thing Conor enjoys doing more than knocking people out, it’s breaking records.” Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh had some words of assurance for jilted featherweight contender Frankie Edgar “maybe Frankie Edgar will get his chance at UFC 200 on 9 July. We’ll see.” Kavanagh added that there would have been complaints no matter who was selected to fight McGregor next.

Kavanagh spoke about the help McGregor received from nutritionist George Lockhart in preparing for UFC 194 by saying it was “probably the best one yet” and that Lockhart would be involved again this time round. “He’s part of the team now. You’ve seen Conor on salads… now watch what he’s like on steak.” Kavanagh added.

It seems that McGregor and Kavanagh will not be satisfied by merely winning UFC championships in two weight divisions as Kavanagh hinted that a third may be on the horizon “I’ve said from the beginning that welterweight may not be out of the question. One of Conor’s main sparring partners, Gunnar Nelson, is a welterweight, so Conor is very used to that feel. I would not be at all surprised if we’re preparing to go for a third belt a year from now.” He said.

Kavanagh ended his piece with a prediction for the fight and he is very confident “I believe this will be another one that won’t see the end of the first round. If dos Anjos manages to survive the first exchange, he’ll become a panicked grappler.“