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Hello everyone,

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor's coach, writes in his book:

"The standard of judging in MMA is often criticized. Pretty much every UFC event throws up at least one controversial decision from the judges. People have suggested other methods of scoring a fight than having three guys sitting cageside and calling it as they see it, but the reality is that no system will ever be perfect because it’s ultimately a matter of opinion. Judging could be done by simply counting takedowns and strikes, like the system used in amateur boxing in which the judges press a button on a machine whenever a scoring punch is landed, but that wouldn’t work in MMA: the sport is far too intricate and judging must inevitably be subjective. Judg‑ ing MMA fights is like tasting two different varieties of the same soup. Even if they’re similar, you’re going to prefer one over the other and there’s no scientific reasoning for that. I also think it’s impossible to have a judge who doesn’t bring his own emotions into the equation. Maybe he has a connection to one of the fighters – he might be a friend of the fighter’s coach or a teammate – or perhaps he doesn’t like what he’s seen from the fighter in the media (in which case Conor might be in trouble if he ever ***goes the distance again!***). A judge from a grappling background might score a fight differently from one whose background is in kickboxing."

Conor McGregor is famous for taunting his opponents and this is probably what John is referring to.
But what does "if he ever goes the distance again" imply?

To me it sounds like he means if Conor decides to compete professionally again.
But the context doesn't support this because at the end of the book John says "Even for his next welterweight fight, Conor’s diet will be strict. We’ve accepted now that it’s an important element of his prepar‑ ation, so you can expect him to come in on weigh‑in day at around 165lb. No cheesecakes this time! It will be nutrition geared specific‑ ally towards performance."

Can "if he ever goes the distance again!" imply that Conor does not always taunt his opponents?

Thank you.