Now Ye're Talking - to John Kavanagh

Swashbuckler

Gamebred wrote:

A recent comment of yours, I've never read such ****e please dont start throwing out this muck to hype the fight please, if your being sincere I would a the HW in question has zero prospects in martial arts competition.

What's the question?

Celticfire

Would you rather fight 1 Horse sized Duck or 100 Duck sized Horses?

Collie D

No question from me.

Just posting to say that despite having close to zero interest in MMA and having clicked into this thread by mistake I found it quite interesting and honest so thanks for that.

Especially liked your answer about shaking Mayweather's hand.

myshirt

John, do you prefer Tayto or King crisps?

ThinkProgress

Couple more Qs....

Do you like being famous? Are there days you wish you could just be anonymous JK again?

Will ground fighting become less of a factor in fights in the future, as more fighters perfect their TD defence and just generally understand the finer details BJJ and wrestling better?

kwestfan08

Best of luck in the next few weeks John. Congrats with all your and the teams achievements to date.

My question is with your vast knowledge of MMA do you ever bet on fights that you or the team have no involvement in? I'm sure you'd get a few trebles or accas up handy enough

Sexual Chocolate

Do you think major fights such as those to feature Conor, Jose, Chad etc will ever be held outside of the US ?

And also it is fair to say that a Croke Park fight with Conor is unlikely at this stage ?

Thanks

jigglypuffstuff

Hello John,

Just a quick question

Diaz V Mcgregor 3

On a scale of 1/10, where do you think the possibility of this fight coming to fruition lies?

Thanks.. Congrats on all the success to date

positivenote

this has been a great scroll John, fair play to you taking the time to answer the Q's.
Simple question from me, Im in my early 40's never thrown a punch or been in a fight in my life (luckily) and have a standard level of fitness from playing football most of my life. I would love to have the confidence to take my fat stomach into my local BJJ as a beginner, but feel I would make a thick of myself. Any advice or am I better of sticking with the sport I know. Ideally I would like to be able to defend myself/my family if ever the situation were to arise and I think some sort of a martial art would be a decent starting point if I could just get past the fear.
THanks again and best of luck in the future

Alanhooly

Hi John. Fair play for coming on.

1.Do you envisage another fighter from SBG in the near-medium future having as much media exposure as Conor or is he simply a one off?

I'm guessing it'll be pretty impossible to top what he has done/doing?

2. Does it frustrate you as a coach that in the midst of the media circus that follows Conor, that sometimes his actual performance in the ring does play second fiddle to the out of ring stuff/build up

Cheers. Loved the book by the way.

Whelo79

Have you been to the new UFC Performance Institute yet and do you think you guys might use it in preparation for the Mayweather fight?

fitzparker

Hi John, if you were given the reigns to organise the next MMA event what 5 fights would you have on it (competitive of course no MM V Stipe type fights!)? and a few words about each

froog

Maybe a bit late but - John do you believe there is some unorthodox punches and movement left undiscovered/unused in boxing that could be effective?

JohnSBG

Whelo79 wrote: »

Hi John,

Fair play for taking the time to do this AMA.

If you could go back and change one thing about your time in MMA (as fighter or coach) what would it be? It doesn't have to be a regret per se, just something that you may have done differently in hindsight.

Do many of your students use a sport psychologist and is it something you would advocate? I know David Mullins and Nuno Pires have/had some links with SBG however I don't know how heavily involved they are currently. This is of personal interest to me as I'm studying for a future career in this area.

What does your new role as Business Dvelopment Director of Wimp 2 Warrior involve? Are you surprised at the uptake from people right across the country to take part. As a Dublin season 1 participant I could not recommend it highly enough to anyone thinking of giving it a go.

Congratulations on all your success so far and I look forward to witnessing many more years to come.

- i'm happy where i am right now so wouldnt change any decision in past as it got me to here.
- a lot of my guys use a sport psychologist
- spread the word around europe and use my knowledge to only bring in suitable gyms
- thanks!

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Hi John,

Just wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the fact that Conor has always remained loyal to you and SBG... even after hitting the big time.

It would have been so easy for him to shack up in the US, with any number of highly acclaimed coaches and MMA gyms. But he kept faith with you and the guys that helped him make it. Even though Ireland was not exactly at the epicentre of world MMA. Many would not have criticised him, if he had left Ireland...

Why do you think this is?

Why does Conor have total faith in his own people, when so many others think that they have to go abroad or hire in big name foreign coaches/teams??

I am not anti-foreigner or anything like that - just to be clear. I guess I just like the fact that Conor has total belief in his own guys. Total belief in Ireland and SBG... when so many others in Irish sport seem to think "Johnny foreigner" is the smarter option!

Sorry, it's a rather long question. But I do think Conor is bucking the trend a bit, and giving a great example for other Irish sports stars to follow!

Thanks and best of luck in the big fight!

- he has 'faith' in evidence. we got results. he stayed.

stephenl15 wrote: »

How open are you to posing for photos in general. I walked right past you at the MGM literally just when I arrived for the Aldo fight, you were with Orlagh so I didn't want to bother you by asking you but it's been bugging me ever since

any time!

Jesus Shaves wrote: »

Outside of MMA what other sports/teams do you follow/support?

i find the all blacks fascinating

thebaz wrote: »

I'm well past my sell by - body battered by too many rugby hits and extended soccer & drinking career - I'm a sober non-smoker these day, meditate with yoga and a daily sea swimner - could you coach me to be an overage MMA contender (was a bit of street fighter back in my day) ??

Seriously, something I do know about is filmmaking - how well did the Notorious doc help Conors career ?

I think it captures a fighter on the way up brilliantly and in 5 years will look even better -

Massive respect for what you guys do .

i'd recommend trying wimp 2 warrior.
i think the constant winning helped more than the doc

helimachoptor wrote: »

Forrest Griffin Vs Stephan Bonnar (and TUF1) was got me into MMA. it was a bloody war. At the first UFC Dublin event, I cant remember which fight it was but they guys pretty much grappled for 2 rounds to a chorus of boos and this has happened at a lot of UFC events.

What's your preference to watch? A stand up war or a technical fight?

technical.

Aph2016 wrote: »

Hi John,

Would I be correct in saying you would lean more to the right than the left when it comes to politics?

What do you think of Donald Trump?

have only recently became interested in politics and have discovered that there is no one party i like or one 'side'. you'd have to ask me about something specific and i'd give you an answer.
he's a buffoon

mailburner wrote: »

Hi John

Best mma fight ever for you?


Of all the fighters you've met outside of sbg who's the best craic and who has let success really go to their head?

Which fighter would you most like to have a pint with?

Pick one fighter you would like to coach above any

What's your opinion of Tony ferguson as a match up for Conor and do you think he's the biggest threat in the 2 divisions Conor has fought in?

Do you ever see Conor moving to ww?

How surprised were you at how dominant maia was v gunnar?

Who wins the match up between whittaker and romero? I like whittaker myself. Same one for nunes Shevchenko? Any thoughts? Nunes for me

Does Conor ever look at boards these days;)

Thanks for coming on

- conor v diaz II was a beauty
- forrest griffin easily best fun. honestly cant think of any that i know changed. plenty of dickheads but they were probably dickheads before 'fame' too.
- see above
- bj penn
- honestly seeing how much that debut guy landed i think its 1 rd.
- no...but i probably would have said that about fighting FM too!
- very. scarily good.
- i'd agree with you on both
- doubt it....but ya never know!

Gamebred wrote: »

A recent comment of yours, I've never read such ****e please dont start throwing out this muck to hype the fight please, if your being sincere I would a the HW in question has zero prospects in martial arts competition.

i'll continue to write what i want and you continue to read everything i write. deal?

JohnSBG

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Hi John.

Been following kiefer Crosbie for years now.

Do you think he will get signed by the ufc or has he left it late?

What was the circumstances he signed to sbg, did you know of him in his last club or did he come to sbg to join?

very very skilled fighter, still has a chance
he just signed up, hadnt heard of him

JahRama wrote: »

Hi John,
Thanks for taking the time

- who is your favouite MMA Journalist?
- Does Frans have ambition to compete in UFC or Bellator?
- How do you deal with sore losers in the gym?
- With regards MMA, do you have a prefered discipline?
- Is the ability to wrestle over rated in the UFC?

helwani
yes
they dont last
BJJ
sometimes yes

Celticfire wrote: »

Would you rather fight 1 Horse sized Duck or 100 Duck sized Horses?

duck size horses. stompy time.

Collie D wrote: »

No question from me.

Just posting to say that despite having close to zero interest in MMA and having clicked into this thread by mistake I found it quite interesting and honest so thanks for that.

Especially liked your answer about shaking Mayweather's hand.

you meant to click that escort one right?

myshirt wrote: »

John, do you prefer Tayto or King crisps?

tayto

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Couple more Qs....

Do you like being famous? Are there days you wish you could just be anonymous JK again?

Will ground fighting become less of a factor in fights in the future, as more fighters perfect their TD defence and just generally understand the finer details BJJ and wrestling better?

i dont think im famous?
it would appear most fights are mostly kickkboxing orientated nowadays. grappling gets booed a lot so fighters adapt

kwestfan08 wrote: »

Best of luck in the next few weeks John. Congrats with all your and the teams achievements to date.

My question is with your vast knowledge of MMA do you ever bet on fights that you or the team have no involvement in? I'm sure you'd get a few trebles or accas up handy enough

thanks!
no. i can assess the physical side easy enough but the mental side i wont know unless i coach them. for example i was once sure of a result and was considering betting. i then heard guy broke up with g/f week before....lost.

Sexual Chocolate wrote: »

Do you think major fights such as those to feature Conor, Jose, Chad etc will ever be held outside of the US ?

And also it is fair to say that a Croke Park fight with Conor is unlikely at this stage ?

Thanks

didnt jose fight chad outside us??
highly unlikely. about as unlikely as say the top ufc guy ever fighting top boxer. oh wait.

pone2012 wrote: »

Hello John,

Just a quick question

Diaz V Mcgregor 3

On a scale of 1/10, where do you think the possibility of this fight coming to fruition lies?

Thanks.. Congrats on all the success to date

i'd say 2-3....sadly.

positivenote wrote: »

this has been a great scroll John, fair play to you taking the time to answer the Q's.
Simple question from me, Im in my early 40's never thrown a punch or been in a fight in my life (luckily) and have a standard level of fitness from playing football most of my life. I would love to have the confidence to take my fat stomach into my local BJJ as a beginner, but feel I would make a thick of myself. Any advice or am I better of sticking with the sport I know. Ideally I would like to be able to defend myself/my family if ever the situation were to arise and I think some sort of a martial art would be a decent starting point if I could just get past the fear.
THanks again and best of luck in the future

100% do it. if you ever want to try it, contact me and i'll set you up with a private lesson. no charge.

Alanhooly wrote: »

Hi John. Fair play for coming on.

1.Do you envisage another fighter from SBG in the near-medium future having as much media exposure as Conor or is he simply a one off?

I'm guessing it'll be pretty impossible to top what he has done/doing?

2. Does it frustrate you as a coach that in the midst of the media circus that follows Conor, that sometimes his actual performance in the ring does play second fiddle to the out of ring stuff/build up

Cheers. Loved the book by the way.

he's a one off
no because true fans see the skills

Whelo79 wrote: »

Have you been to the new UFC Performance Institute yet and do you think you guys might use it in preparation for the Mayweather fight?

i've not been there yet but will visit next month
no, we'll have our own gym

fitzparker wrote: »

Hi John, if you were given the reigns to organise the next MMA event what 5 fights would you have on it (competitive of course no MM V Stipe type fights!)? and a few words about each

gunni v maia
conor v diaz
artem v zombie

froog wrote: »

Maybe a bit late but - John do you believe there is some unorthodox punches and movement left undiscovered/unused in boxing that could be effective?

i'm counting on it

mailburner

JohnSBG wrote: »

- forrest griffin easily best fun.

His book was a right laugh

best of luck john

LollipopJimmy

Is the Farmhouse breakfast roll actually that good? I'm about 100yards from your gym so it's local to me too and I'm starving

Kerrydude1981

Have you done any training sessions with GAA clubs in the gym as part of their pre season training?

And have you been asked to give after training/motivational talks to teams during the GAA season?

JohnSBG

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Is the Farmhouse breakfast roll actually that good? I'm about 100yards from your gym so it's local to me too and I'm starving

get a BELT. thank me after.

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Have you done any training sessions with GAA clubs in the gym as part of their pre season training?

And have you been asked to give after training/motivational talks to teams during the GAA season?

yes kildare and comprimise rules team.

Lukker-

Hey John,

1) Has Conor adjusted his stance much for boxing? His wide base is excellent for MMA because it helps with TDD but would seem to have less benefits in boxing.

2) I've read an article where you suggested you will go back to the old-school with some clinch work, do you see the fight being allowed to carry on in the clinch or will they get separated straight away? I know Kovalev trains with Greco-Roman wrestlers to work on his game, do you anticipate Conor will have an advantage in this regard?

billybonkers

John thanks for your answers in this AMA!

A couple more

1. What can we do to legitimize MMA in the eyes of Irish politicians and have it recognised as a sport?
2. Can I ask what you think of Darragh O Conail, have you ever rolled with him?
3. Where do you see SBG and yourself in 5 years?
4. Will Conor fight in the UFC before the end of this year? And will it be a LW defense? (Provided he isn't injured in the FM bout)
5. If Conor does not defend his LW strap by the end of 2017, would you disagree with the UFC stripping him of it or creating an interim title?

wonderfullife

JohnSBG wrote: »

i dont think im famous?

You coach the highest profile, dual-weight World Champion combat athlete on planet Earth.

You are the 9th most followed Irish person on Instagram. People ahead of you are the likes of Niall Horan, Conor, Hozier, Rory McIlroy.

You are the 67th most followed Irish person on twitter. You have more followers than Gerry Adams, Damien Rice, Sean O' Brien, Simon Zebo, Glen Hansard.

You wrote a best-selling book that was nominated for Sports Book of the Year.


Just thought for an evidence-based guy, I believe all of the above means you're famous?

LollipopJimmy

JohnSBG wrote: »

get a BELT. thank me later

Oh my god.... what a place, I can't believe I've never been there before, even the coffee was unreal. Proper cafe

ThinkProgress

Why, in your opinion, is Nate Diaz considered a top fight for Conor in the UFC... Other than the fact he is very popular and can sell PPV's??

He has lost close to half of all of his fights in the UFC. His recent record is 4 losses out of his last 7 fights...

He has never held a UFC belt, and his only ever title fight was 5 years ago, where he lost by unanimous decision to Henderson...

None of that suggests he is a top fighter in the UFC... So why all the hype around a Nate Diaz fight??

For me, I don't think he'll ever be good enough to hold a UFC belt. He's overrated and overhyped.

Whelo79

Hi Again John, (sightly long one here)

I read previously where you have commented on Conor's new training regime since after the first Diaz fight. His training is more structured, with Julian Dalby involved in the cardio side of things, as opposed to previously where I believe Conor would spend random/long hours and days in the gym working.

Have you seen noticeable improvements in his fitness, training tempo, performance and general health since this change, and have any of your other students adapted to incorporate this more structured style of training into their routines?

My understanding of many of the top level MMA fighters is that a high percentage of them spend long hours in the gym every/most days and can often suffer from illness or injury brought on by fatigue from over-training which results in them missing many days of training while they recover. This over training in worst case scenarios fighters can suffer from complete burn out and withdraw from the sport entirely. In your experience is this something you have noticed and do you actively encourage some fighters to reduce their training load or are they left to control their own training entirely?

I am highly interested in this area as I am starting my thesis in the next few months where I hope to study MMA athletes training routines/volumes/intensity linked with injuries and injury minimisation. There is little to no scientific study into this area currently so I am hoping to uncover some interesting results.

Thanks Again,

Alan.

JohnSBG

Lukker- wrote: »

Hey John,

1) Has Conor adjusted his stance much for boxing? His wide base is excellent for MMA because it helps with TDD but would seem to have less benefits in boxing.

2) I've read an article where you suggested you will go back to the old-school with some clinch work, do you see the fight being allowed to carry on in the clinch or will they get separated straight away? I know Kovalev trains with Greco-Roman wrestlers to work on his game, do you anticipate Conor will have an advantage in this regard?

- you will see many stances and many styles aug 26th!
- he'll have a massive advantage. i've consulted with pro refs and our game plan is within the ruleset.

billybonkers wrote: »

John thanks for your answers in this AMA!

A couple more

1. What can we do to legitimize MMA in the eyes of Irish politicians and have it recognised as a sport?
2. Can I ask what you think of Darragh O Conail, have you ever rolled with him?
3. Where do you see SBG and yourself in 5 years?
4. Will Conor fight in the UFC before the end of this year? And will it be a LW defense? (Provided he isn't injured in the FM bout)
5. If Conor does not defend his LW strap by the end of 2017, would you disagree with the UFC stripping him of it or creating an interim title?

- get IMMAA as the NGB for MMA! working on it
- excellent bjj guy. actually started with me as a no gi blue belt and trained with sbg up until brown belt i think.
- i honestly haven't a clue! i hope doing the same thing
- dec. lw.
- depends on circumstances. how long was DC given?

wonderfullife wrote: »

You coach the highest profile, dual-weight World Champion combat athlete on planet Earth.

You are the 9th most followed Irish person on Instagram. People ahead of you are the likes of Niall Horan, Conor, Hozier, Rory McIlroy.

You are the 67th most followed Irish person on twitter. You have more followers than Gerry Adams, Damien Rice, Sean O' Brien, Simon Zebo, Glen Hansard.

You wrote a best-selling book that was nominated for Sports Book of the Year.


Just thought for an evidence-based guy, I believe all of the above means you're famous?

yeah but besides all that

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Why, in your opinion, is Nate Diaz considered a top fight for Conor in the UFC... Other than the fact he is very popular and can sell PPV's??

He has lost close to half of all of his fights in the UFC. His recent record is 4 losses out of his last 7 fights...

He has never held a UFC belt, and his only ever title fight was 5 years ago, where he lost by unanimous decision to Henderson...

None of that suggests he is a top fighter in the UFC... So why all the hype around a Nate Diaz fight??

For me, I don't think he'll ever be good enough to hold a UFC belt. He's overrated and overhyped.

styles make fights my man. him and conor just work...technically and personality wise. tis like batman and the joker.

JohnSBG

ah jaysus lad. that's a biggie. short answer - each fighter is different. also there's the practicality of it, some have jobs etc. we do our best for each fighter depending on physical and practical needs.

Whelo79

JohnSBG wrote: »

ah jaysus lad. that's a biggie. short answer - each fighter is different. also there's the practicality of it, some have jobs etc. we do our best for each fighter depending on physical and practical needs.

Yeah sorry. I started off knowing it would be a long question, then it turned out even longer

Thanks anyway, the answer is appreciated. I'll probably be canvassing fighters from your gym (any many others) to sign up to the study around October!

bobbysands81

positivenote wrote: »

this has been a great scroll John, fair play to you taking the time to answer the Q's.
Simple question from me, Im in my early 40's never thrown a punch or been in a fight in my life (luckily) and have a standard level of fitness from playing football most of my life. I would love to have the confidence to take my fat stomach into my local BJJ as a beginner, but feel I would make a thick of myself. Any advice or am I better of sticking with the sport I know. Ideally I would like to be able to defend myself/my family if ever the situation were to arise and I think some sort of a martial art would be a decent starting point if I could just get past the fear.
THanks again and best of luck in the future

JohnSBG wrote: »

100% do it. if you ever want to try it, contact me and i'll set you up with a private lesson. no charge.

That's sound of you John, it shows a great amount of decency in you, it's always good to see good people doing well.

I hope your success continues as you've given folk like me (who don't really have much of an interest in MMA) some great craic and some great nights.

Who will be the next Irish fighter to win a UFC belt?

ThinkProgress

JohnSBG wrote: »

styles make fights my man. him and conor just work...technically and personality wise. tis like batman and the joker.

Good answer!

I don't disagree with you, in the sense that their fights are very entertaining to watch!