Motivated Conor McGregor Would Beat Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Coach Says

Conor McGregor is definitely retired.

For real this time. Not like the previous two retirements over the last four years when McGregor jumped back into action for lucrative fight deals.  

In fact, McGregor is so retired that his longtime coach, John Kavanagh, fielded fan questions about potential bouts for the Irishman during a Q&A earlier this week. 

According to TMZ Sports, Kavanagh was asked if McGregor could beat welterweight champion Kamaru Usman or the No. 2-ranked fighter in the weight class, Colby Covington.

"If there's a very motivated Conor, I think he beats any of them," Kavanagh said. "He has knockout power, he has easily knockout power up to that weight class. If he was to put in a serious training camp, I think he wins."

To be clear, there are no current plans for McGregor to fight anytime soon, though there weren't any in place before he announced his retirement in a tweet following UFC 250 on June 6.

McGregor last fought on January 18, defeating Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone by technical knockout 40 seconds into the first round.

Yet he didn't quickly find a new opponent after the performance, with UFC President Dana White saying the best thing McGregor could do is wait to take on the winner of a lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.

With Nurmagomedov still in Russia because of travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, it's unclear when a Gaethje fight could materialize. 

Though he didn't rule anything out, Kavanagh moved the goal posts a bit when asked if he could convince McGregor to come back.

"I can't convince Conor to do s--t," Kavanagh said. "Conor will tell Conor what he's gonna do and who knows what's gonna happen in the future. But, for now, he's retired."