Bellator News: Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh showers praise on UFC's rival

What's the story?

UFC may still be the big dog in the world of MMA but their nearest rivals Bellator are also making all the right noises.

In an interview with Chamatkar Sandhu of ESPN, John Kavanagh praised Bellator's upcoming European excursion and their remuneration policy that will benefit many fighters.

In case you didn't know...

The Scott Coker led promotion that features fighters such as Ryan Bader, Chael Sonnen, Fedor Emelianenko, Rory McDonald, and Gegard Mousasi celebrated ten years of existence in 2018 and ended the year with increased popularity amongst the mainstream masses.

Bellator has now chalked out a grand plan with an aim to expand their market in Europe. The promotion has lined up shows in Ireland, West European countries and the U.K. and are scheduled to kick the European Fight Series on 23rd February in Dublin, Ireland.

Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh shared his thoughts on Bellator's earmarked European expansion and how it will change the lives of many fighters involved.

The heart of the matter

Calling the European expedition a 'huge' deal, Kavanagh mentioned how Bellator had turned around the lives of many fighters from a financial standpoint. He said that many European mixed martial artists had to fight on American soil all these years to get a decent payday but that may all change for the good.

He expressed his excitement and said the morale amongst the fighters in his gym is really high owing to the bright future. He added that he intended on strengthening the relationship with Bellator in the coming years.

Kavanagh continued, "Bellator are going to be really the only show that regularly visits European cities that can give the fighters a decent payday. There are some other good European based shows, but the level of pay is so low it's more like the pros are amateurs."

He said that there are no shows currently in Europe that can provide the fighters with sufficient money and that Bellator will be the only promotion to do so doing that going forward. It's good news for fighters who were forced to work nine-to-five jobs and squeeze in practice during odd times.

What's next?

Kavanagh hyped up the Bellator's European Series Fight card for February that incidentally will be headlined by an exciting bantamweight prospect from his own gym, James Gallagher (7-1).

The card will also feature many other Irish fighters and the Irish coach was not only optimistic about Gallagher's main event bout but also the entire event in general.