John Kavanagh (born 18 January 1978) is an Irish martial arts coach, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and former professional mixed martial artist. His students include fighters such as Conor McGregor, Makwan Amirkhani, and Gunnar Nelson.
| John Kavanagh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 18 January 1978 Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland |
| Residence | Dublin, Ireland |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb) |
| Team | Straight Blast Gym Ireland |
| Rank | 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Matt Thornton 2nd degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate under Pat Conlon[1] |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 6 |
| Wins | 3 |
| By submission | 3 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Occupation | Martial arts coach |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Background edit
He is the founder and head coach of Irish MMA gym Straight Blast Gym Ireland in Inchicore.[2] He is the current president of the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association.[3] Kavanagh was inspired to take up mixed martial arts after watching footage of the UFC tournament in 1993.[4] A pioneer of MMA in Ireland, he competed in some of the earliest local circuit MMA events in Ireland and the UK and is the first Irish man to receive a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[4] Kavanagh was welcomed into the Straight Blast Gym International association of gyms in 2001 by SBGi founder Matt Thornton.[4][5]
Today, Kavanagh is known as one of the best MMA coaches in the world,[6] being nominated for the World MMA Awards "Coach of the Year" in 2016,[7] and winning it in 2017.[8]
Kavanagh is also the promoter of a mixed martial arts organization Euro Fight Night which held their inaugural event in October 2019.[9]
John Kavanagh is the current president of the Irish Amateur MMA Organisation, IMMMA.[10]
Awards and achievements edit
- World MMA Awards
- 2017 The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year[11]
Mixed martial arts record edit
| 6 matches | 3 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3–3 | Robbie Oliver | Submission (armbar) | UZI 2: Combat Evolution | 8 March 2003 | 1 | 2:26 | Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom | |
| Loss | 2–3 | Danny Batten | Submission (keylock) | UZI 1: Cage Combat Evolution | 30 November 2002 | 2 | N/A | Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Leigh Remedios | Decision (unanimous) | UC 1: Ultimate Combat 1 | 10 March 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 2–1 | Tamel Hasar | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Wars 1 | 23 February 2002 | 1 | N/A | Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Bobby Karagiannidis | KO (punches) | Pride and Honor: Pride and Honor | 24 November 2001 | 1 | N/A | South Africa | |
| Win | 1–0 | Leighton Hill | Submission (triangle choke) | Grapple & Strike 1 | 29 May 2000 | 1 | 0:55 | Worcester, England, United Kingdom |
Instructor lineage edit
Kanō Jigorō → Tomita Tsunejirō → Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Hélio Gracie → Rolls Gracie & Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie Jr → Rigan Machado → Chris Haueter → Matt Thornton → John Kavanagh
Further reading edit
- Kavanagh, John (2016). Win or Learn: MMA, Conor McGregor and Me: A Trainer's Journey. Penguin Random House UK
- Slack, Jack (2017). Notorious: The Life and Fights of Conor Mcgregor. John Blake Publishing Ltd
References edit
- ^ Kavanagh, John (2016). Win or Learn. Penguin. p. 6. ISBN 9780241977675.
- ^ Kevin Van Valkenburg (17 January 2020). "Allegations, controversies complicate Conor McGregor's return". espn.com.
- ^ "Outside the Octagon - John Kavanagh: Irish MMA's Game Changer | UFC ® - News". ufc.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Slack, Ch 1. Straight Blast Gym
- ^ Mussa, Matthew (6 July 2017). "John Kavanagh, McGregor's Coach: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". heavy.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Blair, Alex (16 October 2016). "John Kavanagh reveals the day he bare-knuckle fought Conor McGregor". news.com.au. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ "World MMA Awards winners: Holly Holm cleans up in multiple categories". MMAJunkie. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Farrell, Sinéad (3 March 2017). "Conor McGregor and John Kavanagh scoop MMA awards". newstalk.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Peter Carroll (11 November 2019). "John Kavanagh: I'll happily step down as IMMAA president when MMA is recognized in Ireland". mmafighting.com.
- ^ "New body established to represent MMA in Ireland headed by John Kavanagh".
- ^ Bryan Tucker (2 March 2017). "World MMA Awards 2017 Results". mmafighting.com.