“He Wasn’t at a Lot of Morning Practices” – TUF 31 Star Opens Up on Conor McGregor’s Absence From Training Sessions, Despite “Very Knowledgeable” Coaching Staff Covering for Him

After week six of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Conor McGregor is 0-6 down against ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler in their coaching roles. ‘The Notorious’ has been on the receiving end of criticism for not committing to his coaching duties despite taking on the role. Halfway through the season, the show has given the fans a glimpse of both Chandler and McGregor coaching their fighters. The consensus is that Chandler has been the more ‘present’ coach out of the two. However, team McGregor’s Aaron McKenzie has more to add to the story.

McKenzie has been one of the more vocal members of team McGregor from the beginning. The 34-year-old took on UFC veteran Austin Hubbard in the third week and lost via a unanimous decision. Recently, the Oklahoma native sat down for an interview to recount his experience on TUF and training under Conor McGregor. The TUF 31 star addressed the team’s current standing in the show and discussed how their training sessions went. Further, he also clarified the allegations that McGregor was not present for the team.

Aaron McKenzie opens up about training under Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor had no qualms about choosing the prospects when he got the chance to make the first pick. In the very first episode, McGregor picked McKenzie and the others to kick off season 31 of the show. Six weeks later, the veterans are leading the game everywhere. But McKenzie does not think his TUF coach deserves the blame he is getting.

Speaking to Amy Kaplan, McKenzie said, “He was there a lot more than the cameras are actually making him out to be. But I’ll tell you straight up he wasn’t at a lot of morning practices. They probably count the morning practices on one hand that he was at. But they were always set up to be good with one of the other coaches. Like, there was never a moment where we were like ‘okay what are we doing?'”

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However, the lightweight star admitted that having McGregor around more would have been an added motivation. He remarked that McGregor’s absence was felt in some of those training sessions. “You definitely feel that a little bit and like, I don’t know if it would be jibbed or not at all either because I love Conor’s team.”

He said how McGregor’s team was with him through his rise to the top. McKenzie added that the coaching staff was “very knowledgeable” about MMA and said, “I felt very happy getting to train with them and learn from them.”

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What are your thoughts on McKenzie’s comments? What do you think about the current TUF standings? Will McGregor finally be able to get one back? Let us know in the comments.