‘I’ll apologise’ – Conor McGregor’s trainer reveals why Irishman turned up late for UFC return

Conor McGregor’s trainer, John Kavanagh, has taken full responsibility for his fighter’s late arrival in Las Vegas ahead of his return to the UFC Octagon.

McGregor locks horns with Max Holloway on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 329.

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While most fighters turned up to Sin City last week to polish off their preparations, McGregor didn’t touch down until Tuesday.

The Irishman was nowhere to be seen in the first two UFC Embedded episodes, sparking speculation online.

However, Kavanagh has now shed some light on the situation.

“I’ll apologise,” said Kavanagh during a recent appearance on the Ariel Helwani Show.

“I maybe had a part in him being a bit late arriving.

“We were originally gonna come in on Friday, and we were up in Newport [in Rhode Island].

“And it’s so beautiful, and I might have suggested, ‘Why don’t we stay here another few days, and just go in at the last moment,’ because the weather was… you know, the climate’s perfect.

“We got a few extra training sessions done over that weekend, which I feel – if we would have come into Vegas – we may not have.

“So, I think it worked out well, because the weather here [in Vegas] is [much hotter].”

Kavanagh is expecting the ‘best version’ of McGregor after an injury-free camp.

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The Irishman has been sleeping in the gym in an attempt to reignite his hunger.

Meanwhile, Kavanagh and Co. have been monitoring his workload carefully to ensure his next outing doesn’t fall to the same fate as his doomed fight with Michael Chandler.

“We’ve been super careful this training camp,” added Kavanagh.

“He has not a niggle on him, not a bump, not a bruise. 100%.

“We’ll get to see the best version of him.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot in the Octagon since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

This weekend, he goes in search of his first since January 2020, and looks to repeat his heroics from 13 years ago, when he beat Holloway in their inaugural encounter, long before both their respective peaks.