UFC star Conor McGregor has been backed to become a top coach after he calls it quits on his fighting career.
That's according to his own long-time coach John Kavanagh as he described the time he realised McGregor's coaching potential.
The Dubliner has been sitting on the sidelines since July after breaking his tibia during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, Mirror UK reports.
And the former two-weight champion said he will return to "full MMA sparring" by April next year, lining up his next fight shortly after that.
The lack of mobility he had on his injured leg meant McGregor was limited to the weight room during his recovery.
He has noticeably piled on a lot of muscle mass since his loss to Poirier and claimed to be "190lbs of granite" in a recent tweet.
And McGregor - who has two fights left on his current UFC deal - has already been labelled as a "fantastic coach" by his longtime trainer John Kavanagh.
"He used to teach for me. Back in the day, he used to take my boxing classes," Kavanagh told the BBC.
"It wasn't that long ago and he was walking through the gym and there was a beginner boxer class starting. He just walked in and went: 'Oh, I'll take this class today.'
"You could see everybody just froze and he spent an hour and a half on the mat with absolute beginners trying to perfect their jab. It was pretty amazing to watch.
"So I'm hoping he'll fall into that role. He actually is a fantastic coach."
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