Season 31 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter featuring Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler premiered on ESPN on May 3o. The highly anticipated show will mark the beginning of McGregor’s return to the UFC after the injury in 2021. The first episode showed both McGregor and Chandler selecting their teams and familiarizing themselves with them. Split into two teams of eight fighters each, team Chandler and team McGregor will keep the fans entertained till mid-August.
Prior to the show’s release, the trailers became a talking point. A highlight of the trailer was McGregor shoving Chandler during a heated face-off. UFC president Dana White had also alluded to an altercation involving McGregor and Chandler during the filming of the show.
Now, the Irishman has come clean about the allegations and given his thoughts on the same. He also dropped a huge claim about his future involving The Ultimate Fighter and coaching roles.
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Conor McGregor speaks his side about the ‘TUF’ altercation
In a recent interview released ahead of the TUF premiere, Conor McGregor sat down with Megan Olivi to talk about the show. Olivi asked McGregor if coaching for a second time was any different than the first. She asked if coaching against Chandler was different than against Urijah Faber.
McGregor replied, “No, I’m having a bit of fun to be honest with you. I don’t mind Michael [Chandler] at all. I don’t mind the team, the lads.” He continued, “There was a bit of hostility at one stage but for the most part, it’s been a lot of good fun and happy days.”
Finally, he added, “I’d do this again. For sure. I’d coach this non-stop, to be honest.”
McGregor has maintained his enthusiasm about the show from the get-go. The Irishman said he was happy to be back in the mix in a completely immersive environment like ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
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However, team McGregor is off to a rocky start after their fighter Nate Jennerman lost the opening bout against team Chandler’s Roosevelt Roberts. Roberts finished the fight in under ten seconds to start things off with a bang.
TUF episodes will drop on Tuesdays every week on ESPN and will continue till August 15. Hopefully, fans will also get a date for the McGregor vs. Chandler bout during that time.
What are your thoughts on McGregor’s statements? Do you want to see more of ‘Coach Conor? How did you like the first episode of TUF 31?
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Let us know in the comments below.