Conor McGregor has not fought since his unfortunate injury at UFC 264 in July 2021. In the PPV, Conor broke his ankle in a fight against Dustin Poirier and he has been treating the injury ever since, However, Conor is the biggest superstar in the sport and fans are always anxious to know when he will be back in the UFC. Fans do not have to wait much longer as he is all set to coach in TUF 31.
The Ultimate Fighter season 31 is set to feature Conor McGregor as one of the coaches opposite Michael Chandler. The show is set to go live on May 31. Chandler will have UFC veteran and Bellator heavyweight champ, Ryan Bader and Kill Cliff FC coaches Jason Strout and Greg Jones in his coaching team. Conor, on the other hand, will have his SBG coaches John Kavanagh and Owen Roddy on his team.
The show will be telecasted on the main ESPN network and ESPN+. The news broke for the first time in February 2023 and Dana White made the big announcement. While addressing the fans, White revealed the first episode will air on May 30 and the finale will air on August 15. It is well known that the shooting is already wrapped up and Conor has already shared that his team has done brilliantly.
This season will feature bantamweight and lightweight fighters with a mix of fresh faces and some veterans. The bantamweight cast includes Hunter Azure, Timur Valiev, Brad Katona, Mando Gutierrez, Trevor Wells, Carlos Vera, Rico DiSciullo, and Cody Gibson.
In lightweight, Jason Knight, Roosevelt Roberts, Kurt Holobaugh, Austin Hubbard, Nate Jennerman, Lee Hammond, Landon Quinones Stewart, and Aaron McKenzie will feature in the show.
TUF 31: When will Conor McGregor face Michael Chandler?
Conor McGregor’s previous stint as a coach came in TUF 22. However, he did not fight his rival coach Urijah Faber after the show. But this time, he will fight Michael Chandler barring any unforeseen circumstances. He recently appeared on “The MMA Hour” hosted by Ariel Helwani and revealed a potential timeline for the bout.
Firstly, he confirmed that the bout will take place at welterweight. Conor has previously competed at 170 lbs thrice. Once against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 and twice against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 and UFC 202 respectively. So when can the fans expect to see the bout taking place?
Talking about it, Conor revealed, “You know we’re gearing up, there is a lot going on behind the scenes and all but I feel it will move fast. There is no issue why it shouldn’t move fast. I assume (the Chandler fight will happen) late summer, maybe a little bit later depending (on the result). I would like that.”
But, before the fight could happen, Conor certainly has to deal with USADA protocols. While the anti-doping agency revealed that The Notorious One has to abide by all the necessary protocols before he can fight, McGregor disagreed.
He took multiple shots at USADA and questioned the organization’s credibility, stating he had over 70 clean drug tests. So it will be interesting to see when the bout finally takes place. Are you excited about it? Let us know in the comments down below.
