“I Actually Think They Nailed That”: UFC Heartthrob Laura Sanko Heaps Praises on the “Shiny-ness” of Conor McGregor Which “Enticed” Her to Watch TUF Again

The 31st season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ saw the return of Conor McGregor to the show opposite Michael Chandler in a coaching role. The show is already two episodes down, and UFC commentator and heartthrob Laura Sanko expressed her excitement to see ‘Notorious’ back on the show in a conversation with Brendan Schaub.

This season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ has prospects going head-to-head against veterans. Conor McGregor chose to train the prospects while Michael Chandler chose to go ahead with the veterans. Let us take a look at what the UFC’s first-ever female commentator had to say about this new season.

Laura Sanko is excited to see Conor McGregor back on the show

The 40-year-old broadcaster claimed to be enjoying watching TUF 31. She stated that the addition of the former UFC double champion has added a new life to the show. Sanko also said that the fact that we know McGregor will be fighting Chandler at the end has made the TV series more attractive for her to watch. She said, “In terms of TUF, I think the shiny-ness of Conor being back and the fact that we know he’s gonna fight Chandler… I think that alone has enticed me enough to find it interesting.”

Laura Sanko also claimed that the idea of pitting prospects against veterans has made it all the more interesting for the viewers. She added, “I do like the format of prospects versus veterans. That I actually [think] they [The UFC] nailed that.” She praised the UFC for taking up this format for the fans to feel more engaged.

TUF 31 is lacking in viewership

Despite the fact that Sanko sounds excited about the current season of the show, it hasn’t really hit the numbers the UFC would have hoped for. Conor McGregor’s previous appearance on the 22nd edition of the show saw TUF draw an average viewership of around 622,000. However, after two episodes, the current season has been able to draw only 294,000 viewers.

Moreover, things are not going Conor McGregor’s way. Two of his prospects suffered first-round defeats via knockout. It has put Michael Chandler’s team 2-0 up in the competition. Moreover, one fighter from the Irishman’s team, Trevor Wells, had a cold sore, due to which his fight against Timur Valiev had to be postponed.

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It won’t be right to assume that the fans have lost interest in the show after only a couple of episodes. Moreover, the show will end in August which means there is a lot more to come. We will have to wait and see how things pan out in the future.

Are you enjoying TUF 31? Let us know in the comments down below.

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