Sinead Kavanagh was one of Ireland’s most prolific amateur boxers when she decided to make the move to MMA with SBG Ireland.
After making the switch, Kavanagh struggled to fund her early career as she had to train for free under coach John Kavanagh amid a struggle with homelessness. But Conor McGregor stepped in to give her a first sponsorship worth around €10,000, which kickstarted her career.
She signed with Bellator in 2016, and despite a mixed bag of results has established herself as a top featherweight in their star-studded division. She will get a chance at redemption against one of her former foes Arlene Blencowe on Saturday night in Dublin, and could then move on to a world title fight.
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Sinead Kavanagh heaps praise on Conor McGregor for supporting her early career
While Conor McGregor was in the middle of his historic run to the UFC lightweight and featherweight world titles, he met Kavanagh at the SBG Ireland gym. While she was sweeping the floors in the facility to make ends meet, he offered a generous sponsorship that kicked off her professional career.
Their friendship has continued to blossom, and he was cageside for arguably her most famous win; a co-headliner against Leah McCourt in 2022 at the 3Arena. In an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow, she said: “I could hear him when I was in the cage saying ‘be nasty, Sinead, be nasty’.
“He was deadly, having him there shouting for me and giving me little hints here and there it was very good. I went to MMA and I was broke and had no money so Conor sponsored me. My first ten grand he gave me.
“The help that gave me was amazing and it let me know that ‘oh, I’m on my way now to the start of my career. I feel like without him and John, they’ve been such a great help towards my career, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Sinead Kavanagh stays motivated for rematch with Bellator champion Cris Cyborg
One of the key moments in Kavanagh’s career came in November of 2021 when she travelled to Florida to face legendary ‘Grand Slam’ champion Cris Cyborg. The pair flew out of the traps and swung for the fences, but the Brazilian landed the biggest shot and within just over 90 seconds the fight was over.
She has since built her way back up the rankings. And after achieving a number of career goals including fighting at the 3Arena and competing for a world title, wants to cement her legacy by winning a world title.
“If you look at it, Cyborg tried to take me down!” Kavanagh noted. “Who has she ever tried to take down? She had me and was trying to take me down and I got back up, I could just see that she was worried and I just went out and had fun.
“I think without the consequences that I didn’t think of, I just got caught. She bounced off the cage, she broke my eye socket with the punch and I went down. Would I love to do it again? Of course, I want to fix my mistakes.
“Look, it was a great fight for them few minutes it lasted it was a great fight. I got excited, I feel that I clipped her and just saw the shock on her face and went for it, I would definitely go out with a different game plan the second time. I would love to do it again, I think I deserve a second chance.”
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