Kavanagh: 'No chance' of McGregor fighting Ferguson on short notice

If you were hoping Conor McGregor might be the one to save UFC 249, that won't be happening.

The former UFC two-division champion's head coach, John Kavanagh, said Friday that McGregor will not step up to fight Tony Ferguson on April 18.

"We had a bit of fun on April Fools' (Day) with that, but no. No chance of that," Kavanagh told ESPN's Ariel Helwani on Instagram Live. "Ireland is on a pretty strict lockdown. Me and Conor have no physical interactions. There's no physical interaction at the gyms. Gyms are shut down. ... To try and rush that together, I just don't think it would be smart, because he certainly isn't fighting so that he has food for the next six months. That's not where he is in his life."

UFC 249 lost its main event Wednesday when lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed he wouldn't be fighting due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The Eagle" is currently stuck in Russia due to travel restrictions.

"The Notorious" has been vocal about the COVID-19 outbreak, calling for a country-wide lockdown in Ireland.

But that didn't stop McGregor from ripping former opponent Nurmagomedov for withdrawing from the fight. The Irishman congratulated Ferguson on Thursday for winning a "game of chicken" against the Russian titleholder.

Kavanagh said that before the pandemic disrupted the UFC's schedule, McGregor was in talks to fight Justin Gaethje this summer.

"That was certainly one of the ones that was being talked about," he said. "That was right up there."

McGregor last fought at UFC 246 in January, finishing Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds.