Now Ye're Talking - to John Kavanagh

ThinkProgress

JohnSBG wrote: »

its not a difficult question and i gave you the answer. they dont have much of a grappling pedigree. why is a different question.

Okay, I guess we'll find out if you're correct in your assessment soon enough then... right?

John Kavanagh is making his pilgrimage over to the far east to solve the big question, of why a region of billions with a deep historical connection to martial arts, is currently producing zero superstar MMA fighters!

Sorry if that sounds disrespectful John. I genuinely don't mean to disrespect your ability to coach the skills of MMA. I have every reason to believe that you are a fine MMA coach.

But I am just simply not convinced that the problem is solely one of a lack of skills... I think the problem is MUCH deeper rooted than that.

Perhaps you will prove me completely wrong - hopefully you will - I would love to see some great Asian MMA superstars emerging!

japan has a grappling pedigree. as you listed 'asian' martial arts. they were japanese. however the elite in judo/sumo for example make a lot more money in judo/sumo than they would in mma so no motivation to do it. tends to be judo guys not good enough for elite judo or at end of career who try it.

Ah, so it's not just lack of skills...

Now they are lacking in motivation too, eh??? Hmm...

Judo... isn't that the skillset used by a certain superstar female UFC fighter???

Now, what was that Girl's name again??

you strike me as someone who would think because someone looks chinese "they're probably a bit handy at the aul kung fu".

Now now John... making sweeping statements about people you don't know, is rarely the approach of those with an analytical mind. It is usually the preserve of other demographics in society!

Don't worry, I'm not offended. Because I know it's not the truth of who I am. (not even close)

But we can all easily make sweeping statements about other people. For example, I could say that you are obsessed with SKILLS... to the detriment of everything else. I could say you have a heavy bias towards SKILLS, and that your lack of ability to look at the problem from another angle, might potentially blind you to the real solution.

I could say all of those things, but would that be a fair statement to make about you John?? Or would I be making a fairly dangerous sweeping judgement of you? You decide!


As someone who loves martial arts, and grew up watching martial arts movies and fight movies in general... I find it incredibly odd and frustrating, that Asia is not producing any outstanding MMA fighters!

And my analytical mind wants to pull that puzzle apart, and figure out why that might be!

There is nothing racially motivated in my views. (if that's what your comment is suggesting) You can choose to believe whatever you want, John. But I can tell you, that you are making a poor misjudgement of who I am if that's what you think.

tmabr

Hi John, i really enjoyed your book. I also read Geoff thompsons years previously and can see the influence. I also used to enjoy lazer video shop on georges street, im sure we crossed paths there or u may have thrown me out of a nightclub or 2 in town back in the early 90,s.

How meticulous do you plan a fight. It seems when you walk out with conor you know every single step as if the whole team could walk to the ring blindfolded. I imagine this is part of the preparation.

Lukker-

Couple of last few Q's

1) Has it been a different experience, preparing for a boxing bout? Are you just tweaking your approach or is it different from the ground up?

2) Will the time spent training in pure boxing translate to Conor's MMA game? Is there a possibility he might pick up a few bad habits for MMA?

Cheers for doing the AMA, enjoyable read

Awesomeness

1. How do you find the bellator shows compared to the UFC?
2. Will James stay in Bellator in future or is the move to UFC likely?Best 
3 Prediction for who will be the next 3 of your fighters to make it to bellator/ufc?
4 Best bit of advice you ever received?

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Always great when you pop into a thread with your insights. I am sure you must get a laugh out of it at times and think what the feck is wrong with people at others. You have always been dignified with your responses which is great to see

FunGoose

ThinkProgress wrote: »

...lots of words...

...no real questions....

Please stop. Your posts are having a negative affect on what is a very enjoyable AMA. Let the man answer some questions without having to read through some self-absorbed rant.

John, were there many people who doubted your goals along the way and if so, how did it feel when those goals became the great achievements they are? Did those people eat their words or just quietly dissapear?

You don't seem like a 'told ya so' type of lad but I'd say it sure was tempting!

Thanks for your time here and good luck in August, and beyond.

JohnSBG

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Thanks John, one last follow up Q please.

How do you see the Maia v Woodley fight playing out? I think it's gonna be a fascinating watch, people already giving out about it that it will be boring.

maia by rnc in the 1st

cloudatlas wrote: »

Are there any talks/podcasts you would recommend?

What tips would you give someone going to their first BJJ class?

Have you ever put money on your fighters? Have you made a profit?

Is Dana blowing smoke up our ass about Khabib?

Favourite whiskey?

- no
- have fun, do what coach says
- yes. done quite well haha
- no. conor is just that mad.

weldoninhio wrote: »

If this is Rocky 3, won't Conor be battered in the first fight??? Clubber Lang destroyed Rocky at first. Also have you had a medical check-up, being his trainer and all. RIP Mick.

Edit: Does this also mean that Aldo's coach will train Conor if there is a Mayweather rematch lol.

Might be taking the Rocky reference a little too literally. Hahaha

we're clubber.

Ireland7777 wrote: »

Hey John,do you expect mayweather to be more aggressive against Conor than in his previous fights?Will you be involved in the press conference because in boxing the coaches are asked questions.

i'd imagine the same style as usual
i'm gonna skip world tour and just coach here. its during a 'rest' week for conor anyway. will catch up with the in vegas when work starts again.

The White Feather wrote: »

Thanks again John for taking the time to answer everyones questions.

1. Why do Irish people tend to think we have to go elsewhere to train? SBG Ireland fly the flag for Ireland by training here and doing it well. I mean other sports too. I read Sonia O Sullivan's book who is an Irish legend but she spent loads of time running around London and I couldn't understand why she couldn't do it here. Not asking you to speak for her, just that inferiority complex mindset some people have here.

2. What rule change would you like to see the most in MMA?

3. What do you think of those crazy Russian team MMA fights? Who would you pick on an Irish one?!!!

4. Favourite 80's movie?

5. Do you agree with me that Ireland's religious blasphemy law is embarrassing and silly?

6. How nervous do you get before fights?

definition of an expert is someone from out of town
- knees to head of grounded opponent
- stupid
- commando
- yes
- i used to. then realised nobody is going to hit me. now feel blissfully relaxed

JohnSBG

Depp wrote: »

No real questions other than what others have asked, just wanted to say cheers for doing this, great insight!

Anyway best of luck with the fight and the rest of the camp!

very kind, thank you

Lukker- wrote: »

Couple of last few Q's

1) Has it been a different experience, preparing for a boxing bout? Are you just tweaking your approach or is it different from the ground up?

2) Will the time spent training in pure boxing translate to Conor's MMA game? Is there a possibility he might pick up a few bad habits for MMA?

Cheers for doing the AMA, enjoyable read

same style. split sessions, same phasing. but only having to focus on hand striking is a nice break!
- i keep him on his toes with surprise takedown attempts every now and then

ThinkProgress wrote: »

But I am just simply not convinced that the problem is solely one of a lack of skills... I think the problem is MUCH deeper rooted than that. .

i'll be honest and say i didnt read past this. if you have no intent of accepting an answer best to save both people's time and skip the question.

Awesomeness wrote: »

1. How do you find the bellator shows compared to the UFC?
2. Will James stay in Bellator in future or is the move to UFC likely?Best 
3 Prediction for who will be the next 3 of your fighters to make it to bellator/ufc?
4 Best bit of advice you ever received?

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Always great when you pop into a thread with your insights. I am sure you must get a laugh out of it at times and think what the feck is wrong with people at others. You have always been dignified with your responses which is great to see

bellator more of a 'show'
- i dont see him changing from bellator.
- always nervous to do that as i'll leave out someone and get in trouble! i was contacted by ufc last night about a certain weight class...so maybe soon

FunGoose wrote: »

Please stop. Your posts are having a negative affect on what is a very enjoyable AMA. Let the man answer some questions without having to read through some self-absorbed rant.

John, were there many people who doubted your goals along the way and if so, how did it feel when those goals became the great achievements they are? Did those people eat their words or just quietly dissapear?

You don't seem like a 'told ya so' type of lad but I'd say it sure was tempting!

Thanks for your time here and good luck in August, and beyond.

ah i still rub it in to my parents every now and then who argued endlessly with me that i was wasting my degree

ThinkProgress

FunGoose wrote: »

Please stop. Your posts are having a negative affect on what is a very enjoyable AMA. Let the man answer some questions without having to read through some self-absorbed rant.

John, were there many people who doubted your goals along the way and if so, how did it feel when those goals became the great achievements they are? Did those people eat their words or just quietly dissapear?

You don't seem like a 'told ya so' type of lad but I'd say it sure was tempting!

Thanks for your time here and good luck in August, and beyond.

I do apologise if my comment looked like a rant...

I felt like I was being painted as some kind of racist towards Asians, just because JK disagrees with my viewpoint. (which I'm not)

Not so easy to keep your mouth shut, if you care about being seen as a racist.

Ninja101

John sent you a PM...

Salmon

Hi John,

I read in the independent that you would be willing to help Diarmuid Connolly with his 'issues'. Any chance you could consider the same treatment for the Westmeath Football team? Could do with a pep talk at the moment!!!

Thanks

Blazedup

Hi John,

Is it true Paulie Malignaggi is being brought into camp? If so... What do you expect Paulie to bring to camp?

What three attributes do you value most about Conor in his professional capacity?

Thanks,

SK

JohnSBG

Salmon wrote: »

Hi John,

I read in the independent that you would be willing to help Diarmuid Connolly with his 'issues'. Any chance you could consider the same treatment for the Westmeath Football team? Could do with a pep talk at the moment!!!

Thanks

as i tweeted...
journo - "if connolly walked into your gym would you train him?" me "yes of course, be an honor". headline "I'LL GIVE HIM A LESSON!"

i'm willing to train anyone that walks in my door as long as they're not a dickhead

Blazedup wrote: »

Hi John,

Is it true Paulie Malignaggi is being brought into camp? If so... What do you expect Paulie to bring to camp?

What three attributes do you value most about Conor in his professional capacity?

Thanks,

SK

tough spar and a vetern
- intelligence, mental toughness, honesty.

LollipopJimmy

Have any Gardai taken you up on your offer of training?

shrewdness

Hi John,

With a win in Glasgow, who do you want to see Gunni fight next? Since beating Tumenov he has been matched up with lower ranked guys instead of getting someone higher up, aside from Stun Gun which didn't happen. I know you were looking for the Wonderboy fight which would be great, but he and Masvidal seem to want to fight each other. Does someone like Magny make sense or someone higher ranked? What about Lawler or Cowboy if their fight doesn't get made again?

Who do you have in Jones/DC 2, and if Jones moved up to HW how do you think he'd fare against Stipe?

Thanks

ThinkProgress

JohnSBG wrote: »

i'll be honest and say i didnt read past this. if you have no intent of accepting an answer best to save both people's time and skip the question.

My mistake John. I misjudged you, as the type of person who might be open minded to absorbing different viewpoints on issues. No worries!

Please accept my apology.

Again, best of luck on your upskilling mission in Asia...


This post should really contain a question...

Freddy Roach said it would take him 5 years to train Conor to fight Mayweather... how long would it take you to train Mayweather for a MMA fight??

And is there any possibility of any potential rematch ending up in the octagon?? (or some kind of mixed rules fight)

Graham_B18C

^^^Who the fcuk is this guy???

I've never kept up with an AMA as much as this! Thanks very much for doing it John.

How exciting does it get on fight week for you or do you try stay more level headed? Do you watch embedded everyday on the run up to fights? (It's my favorite bit of fight week...apart from the fights )

Best of luck in August, It can't come soon enough!

dickwod1

JohnSBG wrote: »

honestly its not in my nature to strike up a random convo with someone about ufc/fighting. i actually dont like talking about it and cant remember once ever doing it. i'm pretty shy/introverted also so find it very hard to believe i'd do that.
however i'm sure you're not lying so maybe i was dehydrated or something haha

Ha! It stuck in my mind as it was my introduction to Conor,
I went home watched some YouTube videos of his fights and followed his career ever since.

1- What are your thoughts on human evolution?
2- How open minded are you?
3- Would you mind if I sent you a PM?

J Mysterio

ThinkProgress wrote: »

My mistake John. I misjudged you, as the type of person who might be open minded to absorbing different viewpoints on issues. No worries!

Please accept my apology.

You can't accept an apology if it's not made in good faith. You have a giant chip on your shoulder, clearly. Don't be such a pushy ass.

jcd5971

ThinkProgress wrote:

Okay, I guess we'll find out if you're correct in your assessment soon enough then... right?

ThinkProgress wrote:

John Kavanagh is making his pilgrimage over to the far east to solve the big question, of why a region of billions with a deep historical connection to martial arts, is currently producing zero superstar MMA fighters!

ThinkProgress wrote:

Okay, I guess we'll find out if you're correct in your assessment soon enough then... right?

ThinkProgress wrote:

John Kavanagh is making his pilgrimage over to the far east to solve the big question, of why a region of billions with a deep historical connection to martial arts, is currently producing zero superstar MMA fighters!

ThinkProgress wrote:

Sorry if that sounds disrespectful John. I genuinely don't mean to disrespect your ability to coach the skills of MMA. I have every reason to believe that you are a fine MMA coach.

ThinkProgress wrote:

But I am just simply not convinced that the problem is solely one of a lack of skills... I think the problem is MUCH deeper rooted than that.

ThinkProgress wrote:

Perhaps you will prove me completely wrong - hopefully you will - I would love to see some great Asian MMA superstars emerging!

ThinkProgress wrote:

Now they are lacking in motivation too, eh??? Hmm...

ThinkProgress wrote:

Now now John... making sweeping statements about people you don't know, is rarely the approach of those with an analytical mind. It is usually the preserve of other demographics in society!

ThinkProgress wrote:

But we can all easily make sweeping statements about other people. For example, I could say that you are obsessed with SKILLS... to the detriment of everything else. I could say you have a heavy bias towards SKILLS, and that your lack of ability to look at the problem from another angle, might potentially blind you to the real solution.

Your a strange strange individual that is all.

John no questions for me but would just like to say that a few of us went over to see Conor vs Mendes in vegas.
Bumped into a few your team and they were nothing short of great in terms of acknowledging fans,
Even bumped into pendred coming back from the weigh ins as I got a bit lost in the arena.
Didn't want to bother the man so just said good luck in your fight as I passed. He stopped asked me how I was getting on an even posted for an auld pic, pure gentleman.

Good luck with the fight.

JohnSBG

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Have any Gardai taken you up on your offer of training?

a few

shrewdness wrote: »

Hi John,

With a win in Glasgow, who do you want to see Gunni fight next? Since beating Tumenov he has been matched up with lower ranked guys instead of getting someone higher up, aside from Stun Gun which didn't happen. I know you were looking for the Wonderboy fight which would be great, but he and Masvidal seem to want to fight each other. Does someone like Magny make sense or someone higher ranked? What about Lawler or Cowboy if their fight doesn't get made again?

Who do you have in Jones/DC 2, and if Jones moved up to HW how do you think he'd fare against Stipe?

Thanks

anyone who will accept! they all running my man. i like the masvidal fight with winning getting winning of maia/woodly....a boy can dream!
JJ - hope i'm proven wrong
JJ wins

JohnSBG

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Freddy Roach said it would take him 5 years to train Conor to fight Mayweather.

how many years did he train pacman to fight mayweather?

Graham_B18C wrote: »

^^^Who the fcuk is this guy???

I've never kept up with an AMA as much as this! Thanks very much for doing it John.

How exciting does it get on fight week for you or do you try stay more level headed? Do you watch embedded everyday on the run up to fights? (It's my favorite bit of fight week...apart from the fights )

Best of luck in August, It can't come soon enough!

usually dealing with a touchy fighter making weight. not a lot of fun if i'm being honest.

dickwod1 wrote: »

Ha! It stuck in my mind as it was my introduction to Conor,
I went home watched some YouTube videos of his fights and followed his career ever since.

1- What are your thoughts on human evolution?
2- How open minded are you?
3- Would you mind if I sent you a PM?

- it happened
- not so open my brain fell out
- go for it. if its really long essay its unlikely i'll have time to respond. just being honest so as not to waste your time.

jcd5971 wrote: »

Your a strange strange individual that is all.

John no questions for me but would just like to say that a few of us went over to see Conor vs Mendes in vegas.
Bumped into a few your team and they were nothing short of great in terms of acknowledging fans,
Even bumped into pendred coming back from the weigh ins as I got a bit lost in the arena.
Didn't want to bother the man so just said good luck in your fight as I passed. He stopped asked me how I was getting on an even posted for an auld pic, pure gentleman.

Good luck with the fight.

too kind, thank you.

Dial Hard

Which female fighter would you rate most highly?

Do you ever think another one will be subject to the same hype as Rousey?

Do you think that hype was part of her undoing?

Thanks!

ElChe32

Not since yer wan was talking about being ridden for cash has there been such an interesting ama. Thanks John for being so open and honest.

No question from me only best of luck to yourself and the team for Floyd. I hope you shock the world again.

ThinkProgress

J Mysterio wrote: »

You can't accept an apology if it's not made in good faith. You have a giant chip on your shoulder, clearly. Don't be such a pushy ass.

Yeah, but it could be worse... at least I'm not a racist.

jcd5971 wrote: »

Your a strange strange individual that is all.

Thanks.

It's the odd ones that usually go far in this life...

The bland, boring ones usually don't amount to much of substance.

JohnSBG wrote: »

how many years did he train pacman to fight mayweather?

Well, thanks to money boy being a bit of a scared pu$$y... more than 5 years! :pac::pac:

Does it ever bother you at all, that Conor can't use more of his full range of skills against Mayweather, considering the whole world will be watching your fighter??

Btw, I do regret that our exchanges turned a bit sour there... I am very opinionated and passionate. But I did not set out to get into any kind of argument.

ligerdub

John, good luck in August.

I once worked with a guy who often quoted that his one true goal in life was "to build a strong mind in a strong body and to free oneself from the inconsequential worries of life, death and pain".

As you can imagine he was quite the character. He was quite adept at martial arts himself though and he says he heard it through martial arts but couldn't remember who said it.

Have you ever heard that yourself?

JohnSBG

Dial Hard wrote: »

Which female fighter would you rate most highly?

Do you ever think another one will be subject to the same hype as Rousey?

Do you think that hype was part of her undoing?

Thanks!

Joanna
that's up to the fighter to achieve
no - that's on her shoulders.

ElChe32 wrote: »

Not since yer wan was talking about being ridden for cash has there been such an interesting ama. Thanks John for being so open and honest.

No question from me only best of luck to yourself and the team for Floyd. I hope you shock the world again.

haha

ligerdub wrote: »

John, good luck in August.

I once worked with a guy who often quoted that his one true goal in life was "to build a strong mind in a strong body and to free oneself from the inconsequential worries of life, death and pain".

As you can imagine he was quite the character. He was quite adept at martial arts himself though and he says he heard it through martial arts but couldn't remember who said it.

Have you ever heard that yourself?

yes, i'm pretty sure it was roger rabbit.

ok guys here until 7 then need to skiddadle up to the other fella for some sparring analysis. i'll pass on your well wishes, they're all very much appreciated.

Inviere

John, what did you think of the spectacle that was Lawler v Macdonald?

JohnSBG

Inviere wrote: »

John, what did you think of the spectacle that was Lawler v Macdonald?

it was certainly something!

ok everyone. genuinely enjoyed our chat here, some great questions!
stay safe

Zero-Cool

JohnSBG wrote: »

it was certainly something!

ok everyone. genuinely enjoyed our chat here, some great questions!
stay safe

Thanks John, much appreciated, now go kick Mayweathers arse!

stephenl15

Did anyone ask who's idea this was? Did John come forward and ask to do this?