TUF 31 Ep.10 Recap: New Addition to Conor McGregor’s Team; Islam Makhachev Pays Surprise Visit; Brad Katona Reaches Finals After a Blood-Pouring War against Timur Valiev

Conor McGregor found some breathing room after his team avoided a clean sweep. Moreover, he also found a welcome addition to his team in the form of Brad Katona, who was delighted to reunite with his SBG coach, John Kavanagh. Now, ‘The Notorious’ has two fighters under his wing, and his team’s chances to win the competition have dramatically increased. Prepare for an emotional roller coaster as we capture the happenings on the 10th episode of TUF 31.

Brad Katona gets a warm welcome from Conor McGregor

Season 27 winner Brad Katona was delighted with the idea of switching to McGregor’s team in the last episode of TUF. In the recent episode, he bid farewell to Michael Chandler, after thanking him for his coaching input and support in the competition so far. Moreover, Katona mentioned that he had nothing but respect for ‘Iron’. But his wish was always to reunite with John Kavanagh.

After leaving Chandler’s team, Katona received a warm welcome from Conor McGregor, who proudly gave the contestant a Team McGregor shirt. He had been training at Straight Blast Gym for a long time. Moreover, he was all smiles after ‘The Notorious’ embraced him with open arms.

Islam Makhachev visits Timur Valiev

Timur Valiev was paired to fight Brad Katona in the bantamweight semi-finals. During his training session, he received a pleasant surprise. Reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev paid him a visit at the UFC, Apex, and Valiev looked ecstatic. They had a brief chat and Makhachev mentioned that they should train together after the competition was over.

Moreover, Makhachev shared some kind words for Timur Valiev, claiming that they’ve known each other for years. He said, “I know Timur like many many years. We trained together like many times. He’s a hard worker and I really believe he deserves to be in the UFC because he’s a professional.”

Brad Katona defeats Timur Valiev

It was a great episode for Team McGregor’s new addition, Brad Katona. After reuniting with John Kavanagh, he went to war against Timur Valiev. Moreover, the first semi-final can be termed as the best fight of the season so far. Both Katona and Valiev went to town on each other in a bloody war.

Katona started off the fight with great intensity from the get-go. However, he quickly sustained a severe cut less than a couple of minutes into the round. But he impressed the UFC president Dana White with his toughness.

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The fight was a fast-paced encounter, and the tempo did not slow down. Brad Katona came closer to securing an arm-triangle choke. But his former teammate, Timur Valiev, did well to escape that predicament and retaliated with a submission of his own. In the end, the judges ruled the decision in favor of McGregor’s teammate, with a split decision win. With this result, Katona became the first bantamweight to reach the finals.

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