CONOR McGREGOR is going to "train like an animal" to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov again, coach John Kavanagh has revealed.
The UFC star, 30, lost in a fourth-round submission to the Russian in Las Vegas eight days ago and is going back to the drawing board to plot his revenge.
McGregor has been enjoying the limelight though, grinning and throwing footballs around at the Dallas Cowboys' NFL clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But Kavanagh has poured cold water on talk of fights with Anthony Pettis or Tony Ferguson, claiming a Khabib re-match is the ONLY fight McGregor wants.
The 41-year-old told ESPN: "It kind of reminds me of [when] he lost to [Nate] Diaz.
"Just that real fire that was in him to get the rematch and train like an animal for it and go in and have, if not his best performance, a great fight.
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5"So if we’re going to do that, I think it has to be Khabib.
"Would he have that same fire for a [Anthony] Pettis, [Tony] Ferguson?
"Not to take anything away, they’re great fighters. I’m not sure he would have that in him unless it was Khabib.
"What’s really lighting it for you? What’s making your heart go on fire?
"Are you that excited to fight one of the top-10 guys to make a little money to add to your stack? Is that your motivation?
"I think — I could be wrong — the real fire for him would be the Khabib rematch."
McGregor has been reeling from the humbling defeat in Vegas, as his Russian opponent returned home to a hero's welcome from locals, as well as president Vladimir Putin.
But the Dublin trainer reckons nearly two years out of the Octagon proved to be his downfall.
Kavanagh added: "I said I didn’t think ring rust would play a part, but I have to be honest, when I look at it now, when I replay it in my head, I do feel like it played a little bit of a part.
"He didn’t quite get his shots off like he normally would. I thought defensively he did quite well defending a lot of takedowns, especially in round three.
"But Khabib is amazing, amazingly effective MMA fighter. His style is suffocating, it’s relentless, and he does it better than anyone else."
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