Perhaps it was hard to see the benefit at the time but several months removed from Conor McGregor's loss to Nate Diaz last March, John Kavanagh is glad that it happened.
Kavanagh, the head coach at SBG Ireland, appeared on the Late Late Show on Friday night and, as you might have expected, a certain Mr. Conor McGregor was a very popular topic of conversation. To be fair to Ryan Tubridy (and in direct contrast to someone like Tom McGurk), the Late Late Show host does seem to have an open mind when it comes to discussing mixed martial arts in the mainstream media - and it doesn't get a whole lot more mainstream than the Late Late Show.
Tubridy quizzed Kavanagh on what it was like to grow up with martial arts, how he met a young Conor McGregor, as well as some more difficult subjects like when Kavanagh was jumped by a group of men in Rathmines, or the tragic passing of MMA fighter Joao Carvalho last April.
One of the more interesting moments was when Kavanagh described his feelings on his student's loss to Nate Diaz earlier this year and how, in a way, he was glad that it happened. Now, that isn't to say Kavanagh was rejoicing in the defeat but for someone who espouses the mantra 'win or learn', you're going to have come up short a few times.
And, as Kavanagh says, it's what you do next that matters.
Check out the clip below.
I knew @TheNotoriousMMA wouldn't see loss as reason to quit, he'd see it as reason 2 learn @John_Kavanagh #latelate https://t.co/W2rYNBAusI
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) September 9, 2016
