It may come as no surprise that Conor McGregor is a fiery character and has a real knack for causing controversy.

It has been revealed this week prior to his return to the Octagon, where he will face none other than Donald Cerrone, that McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh once pinned the Irishman down and ‘beat the s**t’ out of him – this was all before the bright lights of stardom that followed soon after.

The alleged altercation was said to have followed a heavy sparring session with fellow mixed martial artist and Irish women’s strawweight Aisling Daly.

Kavanagh revealed, as per The Sun: “He wasn’t hitting her in the head or anything, but just happened to throw a body shot that hit her in the sweet spot, the solar plexus, and put her down.

"I got a little emotional because Aisling had been with me a long time and the other guys would look after her.

"But this new guy had come in and put her down, and my protective nature kicked in.

"I was still fighting at that stage, or hadn't stopped that long, so I put the gloves on - actually, he has corrected me on that and says it was bare knuckles.

"But I held him down and beat the s**t out of him, without putting too fine a point on it.

"I kept hitting him in the body until he couldn't breathe and then I looked at him: 'What's it going to be? We can train or we can fight?' And he was OK from the next day."

It appears safe to suggest that not only have the pair managed to put the past behind them, but in fact, gone on to become arguably one of the best fighter-coach combinations in mixed martial arts today.

These reports come ahead of the much-anticipated return fight against Cowboy.

At the weigh-in, Conor looked in truly remarkable shape, perhaps the best of his career – weighing in at a lean 170lbs.

The journey of return starts with Cowboy and it looks set to be one heck of a bout, let alone a nice pay day and an unprecedented night at the box office.

Who do you think will be crowned victorious?