10 Conor McGregor "What Ifs"

10. John Kavanagh & SBG

‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor was born and raised in the now-famous suburb of Crumlin, Dublin. From an early age, McGregor was a keen sportsman, boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club and playing football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club. But it wasn’t until 2006 that he discovered the world of Mixed Martial Arts and began his journey to becoming the first double champion in the UFC.

However, the story could have ended before it even began if it wasn’t for his coach, John Kavanagh. Kavanagh started Straight Blast Gym as a passion project to teach other people the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA skills he had learned. SBG went from strength to strength over the years, and eventually, a young Conor McGregor found himself training under Kavanagh. After suffering his first professional MMA loss in 2008 to submission specialist Artemij Sitenkov via kneebar, he took a hiatus from the sport, hoping to explore other avenues. Reluctant to let McGregor squander his MMA skills, his mother, Margaret McGregor, and Kavanagh reinvigorated him to pursue a career as a professional mixed martial artist.

As the old saying goes, ‘mother knows best!’