TUF 31 Ep. 5 Recap: McGregor’s Team Compete on the Rowing Machine; 0–5 to Team McGregor; ‘Notorious’ Gets Enraged for the Lack of Third Round

UFC’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ released yet another episode of its 31st season exclusively on ESPN. A new lease on life seems to have been injected into the reality TV show with the return of Conor McGregor. The 5th episode was aired on June 27th. Take a look at the biggest highlights.

Despite featuring some of the best prospects and veteran fighters, the show has still not been able to replicate the success it had during McGregor’s previous appearance in the 22nd season. Let us take a look at what interesting things happened during the recent episode.

Conor McGregor and his team partake in a rowing competition

At the beginning of the episode, ‘Notorious’ introduced the prospects to his ‘McGregor fast’ session. He set up the prospects to compete against each other on the rowing machine and race against each other. It was a time trial contest to see who can finish 500 meters the fastest.

While everybody gave their best, lightweight fighter Aaron McKenzie came out on top, completing the 500-meter row in just 1 minute and 38 seconds. After the prospects were done with their turns, the former double champion hopped into the rowing machine and did his bit. This proved to be an excellent team bonding and morale-boosting exercise.

Team McGregor goes down 0-5

Conor McGregor isn’t having a great time at TUF this season. His team has not been able to carve out even one victory so far. This week saw Ecuadorian Carlos Vera take on Canadian Brad Katona in a bantamweight clash. Like all the previous fights, this fight was also set as a two-rounder. The fight started off well for McGregor’s team as Vera came out kick-heavy. However, Katona took control of the fight, dragging his opponent to the canvas twice and landing some ground-and-pound blows.

Vera started off the second in the same way as the first round, showcasing some great striking abilities. He landed a few good shots before Katona dragged him back down again.

READ MORE: Can Conor McGregor Fight Without Joining the USADA Pool? Are There Any Accusations on the Ex Champ Stopping Him From a Return?

Brad Katona got behind the Ecuadorian and looked to set up a rear-naked choke, but Vera’s mouthpiece fell off, resulting in the referee calling for a time-out. Katona continued to dominate the second round and ended up winning the fight via a unanimous decision.

‘Notorious’ gets enraged after not getting a third round

Conor McGregor was seemingly angry regarding the fact that the fight lasted for only two rounds. He got inside the cage before the official decision of the bout was announced and expressed his displeasure regarding it. Even after the fighter went back to their locker rooms, the former double champion continued to voice his opinion regarding it.

As McGregor left the Octagon, he demanded that Dana White make the fights three-rounder from the next fight onwards. He said, “Dana, tell them three rounds, yeah?” McGregor continued to express his displeasure with the situation even after going back to the locker room area. Furthermore, the Irishman proceeded to share a tweet claiming that Carlos Vera has at least performed well enough to get the performance bonus of $60,000.

What was your favorite moment from the 5th episode? Drop your comments below.

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