John Kavanagh has confirmed Conor McGregor has no plans to retire from UFC competition, with the coach giving a direct update on the Irish MMA star's recovery and fighting future

Conor McGregor has no plans to hang up his gloves, according to his long-time coach John Kavanagh, who has disclosed what the UFC icon has been telling him about his fighting future.

Following a five-year hiatus, McGregor staged his highly anticipated MMA return earlier this year at UFC 329 against old foe Max Holloway. Yet the Dubliner's comeback was cut short by an ACL injury that ended his bout after merely 69 seconds.

McGregor went under the knife following the blow and has since committed himself to a rigorous rehabilitation regime. Kavanagh noted the former two-weight UFC champion was "moving around quite well" and tackling his recovery with fierce resolve.

McGregor has also got back to sparring, providing a positive indication of his advancement. Nevertheless, Kavanagh reckons the 38 year old won't be prepared to resume MMA-focused training until next year, positioning 2027 as the most plausible timeframe for his competitive comeback.

"He says he does [fight again]," Kavanagh revealed during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. "I think I'm just too long around him, now 22 years around each other, and I've just seen him do too many things that seem to be impossible and he does them, repeatedly. So, if he says he does, I'm not going to doubt him.", reports the Irish Star.

"We'll see. I guess it'll be next year until he can start returning to MMA type training. He's going through his rehab now and he's back. He looks pretty good to me.

"He looks to be moving around quite well. I just don't know if he's done with competition just yet. What does that look like? I don't know."

Kavanagh remembered observing from McGregor's corner, explaining he was still placing down the bucket when he glanced up to witness the former champion collapse to the canvas.

"I didn't know what had happened. I wasn't sure it was a slip or what had gone on, but it was obvious when he stood up that there was something had gone terribly wrong," Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh further verified McGregor had sustained no previous injury, with the harm happening on his opening technique of the bout - a manoeuvre he had consistently rehearsed during training camp.

"For the conspiracy theorists out there, he walked in with no injury. Zero injury. There was absolutely no injury," Kavanagh added.

He noted that McGregor was potentially in superior condition entering the camp than he had been ahead of numerous past contests. "I can guarantee you that he was 100% going in. In fact, probably more healthy going into this one than the last few," he added.