Conor McGregor’s coach attributes part of loss to not cutting weight in first Nate Diaz fight

John Kavanagh, head coach of Conor McGregor, will soon come out with his autobiography book “Win or Learn.”

In the opening of his book, Kavanagh delved into Conor McGregor’s first UFC loss, which came at the hands of Nate Diaz at UFC 196.

The42 has the opening of Kavangh’s book that goes into some detail of McGregor’s loss to Diaz and what they feel went wrong.

“Not having to cut weight for the fight against Diaz was supposedly helpful, but in hindsight it was undoubtedly a hindrance. Cutting weight may not be much fun, but it does serve as a reminder that you’re preparing for a fight. It focuses the mind and has been an enormous part of what we’ve been doing. Without that ritual, things were just weird. It left us all in an unusual state of mind. The routine we had established was suddenly absent. The need to cut weight gets the fighter in the zone and lets them know that a fight is on the horizon. If a person is starving, they’re in survival mode. It focuses the mind and taps into the reptilian part of the brain. When Conor is cutting weight, he views his opponent as an obstacle in the way of his next meal. It’s a primal thing. On the other hand, when you’ve eaten a good dinner, all you want to do is relax in front of the TV. The fire in your belly is replaced by food. Being stuffed isn’t conducive to maintaining a competitive mindset.

“Even for his next welterweight fight, Conor’s diet will be strict. We’ve accepted now that it’s an important element of his preparation, so you can expect him to come in on weigh‐in day at around 165lb. No cheesecakes this time! It will be nutrition geared specifically towards performance.”

Video | Conor McGregor
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