Meet the coaches

Head Coach

John Kavanagh

John Kavanagh is the founder and Head Coach of SBG Ireland. He became one of Ireland’s first professional MMA fighters in 1999, competing in the UK, Europe and South Africa, and opened his first full-time gym in Phibsborough in 2000.

In 2002 the gym joined Matt Thornton’s Straight Blast Gym International, and Thornton awarded Kavanagh his BJJ purple belt. He won gold at the IBJJF European Open in 2005 and in 2007 became Ireland’s first BJJ black belt.

As a coach, Kavanagh guided Conor McGregor to the UFC featherweight title in 2015 and the lightweight title in 2016, and was named Coach of the Year at the 2016 World MMA Awards. He also cornered Gunnar Nelson to 4th place in the Absolute division at ADCC 2009.