Conor McGregor's laser-like focus is his secret weapon.
That’s the verdict of the UFC star’s trainer John Kavanagh.
The 32-year-old, known as the Notorious, is preparing for a rematch with Dustin Poirier on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
It will only be McGregor’s third UFC bout since his 2017 boxing showdown with Floyd Mayweather.
The Dubliner lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, although followed that up with a first-round win over Donald Cerrone 12 months ago.
But despite lengthy periods without fighting and a large array of commercial interests, Kavanagh insists McGregor is more determined than ever before.
“He’s very good at compartmentalising,” Kavanagh told Mirror UK.
“When Conor is in the gym – he’s really there.
“He won’t be checking his phone or chatting about business. But if he’s got meetings to go to, he’ll be in the moment for that, too.
“When you have his aspirations to be top in sport and business, that’s a skill you really need to have.
“Financial freedom is a nice benefit of what Conor is doing, but it was never his
ultimate goal.”
A return to the boxing ring later this year looks on the cards.
McGregor is keen to lock horns with veteran Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Kavanagh would prefer him to commit to life in the Octagon, though.
“It’s no distraction, but I’ll tell you as a fan I’ll be very disappointed if he slips off into the boxing world again,” he added.
“I’ll be twisting his arm to stay in MMA.
“He’s got some fantastic opportunities lined up after this fight, but we don’t want to lose ourselves with that. We have a very tough fighter coming up and we’re only days away from it.”
BT Sport Box Office will show UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 exclusively live on Saturday January 23.
