Coach confirms Conor McGregor is in fight camp as the Irishman misses meetup with UFC legend Royce Gracie 

Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has confirmed that the Irishman is in fight camp as he missed a meetup with UFC legend Royce Gracie.

John Kavanagh recently linked up with Royce Gracie at McGregor's pub in Dublin, Ireland, The Black Forge Inn. The Irishman's coach took to Instagram to share a picture of his meetup and revealed why 'The Notorious' wasn't able to join them.

While claiming that McGregor couldn't be with them because he was in camp, John Kavanagh had this to say:

"Surreal night for me. With the first @ufc champ...in the first UFC champchamps bar. Unfortunately, he couldn't join us but he's in camp right now."

It is worth noting that there has been a lot of speculation surrounding Conor McGregor's return to the octagon. While for months it was suggested that 'The Notorious' would not be able to return to fighting this because of not entering the USADA testing pool in time, a recent leak revealed that the bout between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler has been finalized for the final pay-per-view of the year in December.

However, it was later claimed by Dana White that the leak was just a fake picture. That said, it remains to be seen if McGregor will return to fighting this year or not having already started his training camp.

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Conor McGregor pens emotional message after receiving BJJ black belt

McGregor recently took to Instagram to reveal that he has been awarded a BJJ black belt. He also expressed his gratitude towards his long-time head coach, John Kavanagh, for his mentorship over the years and thanked him for the jiu-jitsu award.

'The Notorious' posted a video showing Kavanagh calling him up to give him the BJJ black belt, with a voice-over of the coach outlining why McGregor deserved the black belt. He captioned the video by saying:

"Thank you John, means the world."

Conor McGregor also posted some pictures of the event and penned an emotional note about his journey as a fighter. He said:

"Received my black belt tonight from my coach, friend, and mentor, @coach_kavanagh of @sbgireland! 20 years of hard work! Thank you, John, for everything over the years and to all of my teammates throughout this incredible jiu-jitsu journey!"