It’s been more than two years and a serious injury since former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has competed in the octagon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he hasn’t evolved his skill set.
On Monday, McGregor revealed on social media that he’s been awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by his longtime coach, John Kavanagh of SBG Ireland, after “20 years of hard work.”
Received my black belt tonight from my coach, friend, and mentor, @coach_kavanagh of @sbgireland! 20 years of hard work! Thank you John for everything over the years, and to all of my team mates throughout this incredible jiu jitsu journey! Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart! A Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, wow! Praise be to God and then Helio. I’ll be in the Gi in it tomorrow Helio, I promise, and I cannot wait!!
What a buzz ❤️🥋🙏
McGregor, 35, a striker known for his knockout ability, has attempted one submission in 14 UFC appearances since his debut in April 2013. That came in his last fight, a July 2021 TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy.
In the final moments of the first round, McGregor suffered a gruesome broken leg that required surgery and extensive rehab. But he’s been back healthy for quite some time and earlier this year coached opposite Michael Chandler on “The Ultimate Fighter 31.”
Perhaps McGregor will get a chance to show off his ground game in a fight with Chandler. As is customary with “TUF” coaches, the two are expected to fight each other, although nothing has appeared imminent while McGregor has remained out of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug-testing pool. Per the policy, McGregor needs to be in the USADA pool for at least six months before he can compete.
McGregor, who was very active while he chased UFC gold, has fought in the octagon just four times since October 2018, during which he’s gone 1-3 with losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title fight and twice to Poirier. McGregor’s lone victory came in January 2020, a first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in a welterweight bout.
