Inside the Conor McGregor training camp: How 'Notorious' has pushed the reset button in bid to reclaim UFC crown

EXCLUSIVE
Tony Mogan17 January 2020

At the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, Conor McGregor has spent the last few months working on the masterplan he hopes will guide him back to the summit of UFC.

It was there where he first walked through the doors as a scrawny teenager and began the journey that would eventually see him become a two-weight UFC champion. During his most troubled times, it has also served as a safe haven, sheltering him when ‘Notorious’ has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Inside those walls and under the guidance of long-term trainer John Kavanagh, the Dubliner has sought to rebuild following his submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov, a crushing setback that changed the landscape of UFC and prompted questions over his future in the sport.

That night back in October 2018 was his first MMA fight in two years, one that followed his money-spinning boxing showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. His bank balance has remained sky-high in that time but he is no longer the universally revered king he once was after a damaging 2019 riddled with controversy and scandal.

One of the biggest question facing the 31-year-old ahead of his grand return against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 this weekend is whether the hunger that drove him to become the transcendent star of MMA is still there.

In the minds of those working alongside him at the SBG back home in Dublin, there is only one answer to that question.

The gym McGregor calls home houses a host of fighters, including Kiefer Crosbie and Peter Queally, his long-time teammates who fight for UFC’s rival promotion Bellator. The two have trained alongside McGregor throughout his rise and compare the experience of walking into one of their SBG sessions to ‘walking into a f*****g nightclub’. Music blares, jokes are shared, before the work begins.

McGregor hasn't fought since his October 2018 defeat to Khabib Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

Queally has known McGregor for the best part of a decade and has been on the frontline with him during those intense sessions in the Irish capital.

He has been an occasional sparring partner, with McGregor also working with taller fighters as he prepares for the 6ft 1in Cerrone. “He looked amazing,” welterweight fighter Queally said. ”The power and speed was there and it was as good as I have seen him - and I have known him 10 years. He’s back, I can tell you that.”

McGregor’s fearsome striking has long been his most dangerous weapon, winning the featherweight title with a 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo back in 2015 before blasting through Eddie Alvarez to take the lightweight crown in 2016.

In Pictures | Conor McGregor vs 'Cowboy' Cerrone | 16/01/20

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Against Nurmagomedov, the man widely regarded as the best grappler in the business, McGregor was outclassed on the mat. The former champion isn’t out to reinvent himself and says he will chase another KO finish against Cerrone – but intense work has gone on to improve the other areas of his fight game.

His teammate Crosbie said: “The biggest thing I’ve noticed is his jiu jitsu and wrestling, it’s amazing. He is a high level mixed martial artist. People are in fear of the left hand but he is a well-rounded mixed martial artist. He can wrestle, grapple and do it all. I love training with him, you’re always learning from him.

“I’ve never met a fighter with a better fight IQ. I think that’s his biggest attribute, he just understands fighting better than anything else. He understands the human body, its reactions and he knows how to punish it so well. I can see him doing a job on Donald quick, I can’t see him [Cerrone] touching him.”

2019 was a damaging year for McGregor Photo: PA
PA

The defeat to Nurmagomedov and the madness that followed that night in Vegas saw McGregor’s stock fall. The inactivity that followed and the damaging headlines over his personal life helped fuel uncertainty over his future in the sport but from within the camp, there has been no change in demeanour, no change in attitude, no change in desire.

“It’s been just like the old days,” Kiefer recalled. “He is a grafter. He understands what hard work means and he is the hardest worker in the room, we all aspire to be like him. Everyone is tight, we all work hard.

“People are quick to forget, he is the original champ-champ, in my opinion one of the greatest of all time. He came in and flipped this MMA thing upside down and made it what it is today. He owned the world and he still does."

Crosbie is part of the team at the SBG Photo: Lee Hamilton-Cooper/Bellator MMA 
Lee Hamilton-Cooper/Bellator MMA

What goes on in fight camp ultimately defines fight night. While Nurmagomedov was sublime as he dismantled McGregor to defend his lightweight title in 2018, noises over what went down in the weeks and months preceding that defeat suggested something wasn’t right.

“It wasn’t great to be honest, for different reasons,” Queally said, recalling that fight camp. “It wasn’t the best preparation for him. So I want to see him with a proper camp and come into that fight [against Nurmagomedov] 100 per cent because he will beat him. People scoff at this, but he will, trust me. With a proper camp he beats him. I want him to get that fight and prove it.”

McGregor isn’t the only SBG fighter preparing for a major fight in early 2020. A handful of the gym’s other prominent names are also working towards the same goal with Queally, Kiefer and another rising star of MMA in James Gallagher back in action themselves in February on a stacked Bellator Dublin card.

McGregor scaled the cage to celebrate with Queally in September Photo: Lee Hamilton-Cooper/Bellator MMA 
Lee Hamilton-Cooper/Bellator MMA

And having everyone on a similar training trajectory will be key in each fighter putting on a show, says Queally.

“His fight is aligning with our fights. They are a few weeks apart. For the first time in a long time, everyone in the team is pushing towards one common finish line. It’s been great.

“You want to see the pro sessions at SBG. It’s like walking into a f*****g nightclub. A load of mad lads sweating and killing each other, it’s a great buzz. Because we are all friends, this is the big difference between SBG and the other super gyms throughout the world.”

McGregor was cage-side to watch his friends Queally and Crosbie score wins at Bellator Dublin last September, leaping from his seat and almost scaling the cage to celebrate with the former after his TKO win over Ryan Scope.

All eyes will be on him this weekend as he looks to reaffirm his status as the UFC’s number one attraction.

“He keeps saying one thing over and over again. ‘This is a season, the 2020 season is starting’”, Queally said. “That to me, tells me he has completely put that Khabib fight behind him. This is a new year and this is it, the path is set out.”

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