McGregor's coach refuses to rule out comeback after UFC 329 knee injury ends fight in 69 seconds

Conor McGregor’s long-time coach John Kavanagh has refused to write off the former two-division UFC champion’s fighting future, saying he expects McGregor to resume MMA-specific training in 2027 following the knee injury that ended his UFC 329 bout against Max Holloway after just 69 seconds.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Kavanagh drew on 22 years working alongside McGregor to explain why he takes the Irishman’s stated intention to fight again at face value.

“He says he does [fight again],” Kavanagh said. “I think I’m just too long around him, now 22 years around each other, and I’ve just seen him do too many things that seem to be impossible and he does them, repeatedly. So, if he says he does, I’m not going to doubt him.”

Kavanagh offered a cautious but broadly positive assessment of McGregor’s physical condition, noting that his fighter is already moving well during rehabilitation. “We’ll see. I guess it’ll be next year until he can start returning to MMA type training. He’s going through his rehab now and he’s back. He looks pretty good to me. He looks to be moving around quite well,” he said.

Despite his optimism, Kavanagh stopped well short of mapping out a specific return timeline or opponent, acknowledging that the shape of any comeback remains unclear.

“I just don’t know if he’s done with competition just yet,” he said. “What does that look like? I don’t know.”

McGregor, 36, has not won a UFC fight since defeating Donald Cerrone in January 2020. His July clash with Holloway at UFC 329 was billed as a high-profile return, but the contest was brought to an abrupt halt by the knee injury, leaving questions about his long-term future in the sport. Kavanagh’s comments suggest those questions will not be answered until rehabilitation is complete and full training resumes.