Conor McGregor’s head coach promises ‘this is the best I’ve seen him’ ahead of UFC 246

Conor McGregor has a lot of questions to answer when he returns at UFC 246. But his head coach seems to believe he’ll be at his absolute best when he clashes with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone on Jan. 18.

John Kavanagh, who’s worked with McGregor during every single one of his fights in the UFC, revealed on New Year’s Day that the team has wrapped up their final sparring session in Ireland before relocating the training camp to Las Vegas.

While it’s been nearly 15 months since McGregor fought, Kavanagh said that the former two-division UFC champion is looking better than ever as he prepares to compete at 170 pounds for the third time in four fights.

“Jan 1st, last heavy spar today before going to Vegas,” Kavanagh wrote on Twitter. “Can honestly say this is the best I’ve seen him and I wasn’t sure that was possible to do six months ago.

“You guys are in for a real treat, I’m just glad to have a good seat!”

McGregor will be competing at 170 pounds when he makes his return against Cerrone in the main event from Las Vegas.

According to UFC president Dana White, McGregor’s requested to move up in weight because he wants to compete at least three times in 2020, and fewer weight cuts would ultimately benefit him in that endeavor.

Judging by the remarks made by Kavanagh on Wednesday, McGregor appears serious about staking his claim as one of the best fighters on the planet again after three years of sporadic activity and repeated brushes with the law.

McGregor hasn’t won a fight in the UFC since 2016; his most recent fight resulted in a fourth-round submission loss to reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Now, he aims to get back into the win column before targeting a potential rematch against Nurmagomedov – or a showdown with “BMF” champion Jorge Masvidal before 2020 wraps.