Kieran Davern in a BJJ athlete and competitor from SBG Tullamore, Ireland. He received his black belt aged 30. In terms of BJJ goals, he lists receiving his black belt as his biggest achievement to date. He currently trains under John Kavanagh and says “John is one of the best in the game at breaking down technique and teaching it in the simplest form to his athletes. His coaching in the corner is very calm, clear and precise.”
A big part of Kavanagh’s profile is his link with Conor McGregor – and we asked Davern about McGregor’s influence in the growth of both MMA and BJJ, to which he answered “Conor’s rise in the UFC has definitely had a huge effect on the popularity of BJJ and MMA in Ireland.” which can be seen through the sheer number of fighters and BJJ practitioners coming out of the island in recent years.
When asked about his favourite positions whilst training, Davern replied he likes the seated guard position and enjoys sweeps from butterfly guard such as the shoulder crunch position. When playing on top, he enjoys pressure passing and favours the folding pass. From here his favourite submission is the rear naked choke from the back position. Unsurprisingly, he lists Marcelo Garcia as the biggest influence on his style, which can be seen through his use of the butterfly position.
Although an avid competitor, he interestingly says that his hardest opponent in training is his brother. For those who train with their siblings, this is actually quite a common answer and shows the importance of having a bit of healthy sibling rivalry to help push you further. In terms of future competition plans, he also aims to qualify for ADCC at some point in the future and usually competes between the 80-90KG bracket.
Lastly, we asked him about his involvement in the recent Polaris Squads format which featured team UK and Ireland against team Europe. Davern was part of the winning UK and Ireland team which won 1-0 overall which also saw him successfully hit a few sweeps from the butterfly position. With regards to the team format and unusual setup he responded by saying “I didn’t feel much pressure in this event, I really enjoyed competing under this format and as part of a team. I felt as a team we all lifted each other up and clicked well together. We all wanted to see each other do well. I really liked the way I didn’t have to prepare for a specific opponent and didn’t know who I was facing until 30 seconds before the match.”
Davern ended by saying this message: “Thanks to my team at SBG Tullamore & sponsors Tatami Fightwear for their continued support.”
