The excitement went into overdrive when UFC President Dana White announced Conor McGregor will coach in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 31. McGregor will be opposite Michael Chandler as a coach and the show is set to air in May later in 2023. As the show is about to start taping, there is a fresh controversy brewing regarding some of the contestants on the show.
This season’s show will feature lightweight and bantamweight fighters. According to a report from MMA Lationamerica, each division will have 8 fighters and 2 substitute fighters. The lightweight division was set to include fighters like Kenneth Cross and Mitch Ramirez. However, sports agent Daniel Rubenstein has revealed some bombshell news.
Ken Cross, Mitch Ramirez and Brandon Jenkins all got pulled off to make room for 3 of Conor’s guy to be on the show.
— Daniel Rubenstein (@dannyrube) February 17, 2023
According to him, both Cross and Ramirez will miss out on the show. Apparently, the former UFC double champ exercised his powers and is bringing in three fighters of his own. Although the UFC is yet to announce the official line-ups, the news has created an uproar in the MMA world. The most vocal critic of Conor McGregor is Gilbert Burns.
Not fear with Loik 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ now more than ever F🤬 this guy https://t.co/iEKVGj55VT
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) February 18, 2023
This guy is my teammate!
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) February 18, 2023
Loik Radzhabov 2x PFL finalist 155! Work so hard and was ready to finally get his shot in the UFC on TUF was in Vegas everything good to go! This freaking Conor bring his own guys and they kick him out! 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ Not Fear! pic.twitter.com/qQ0JXspn75
Apparently, Loik Radzhabov was also one of the fighters who was initially set to have a go on the show. According to Gilbert Burns, Loik was also allegedly kicked out of the show to accommodate Conor McGregor’s fighters. Conor’s last TUF appearance came at TUF 22. That season featured Artem Lobov, who was Conor’s best friend and teammate.
Conor McGregor rubbishes reports of him picking his own fighters
Conor McGregor was last in action at UFC 264 in 2021. After breaking his ankle against Dustin Poirier in the fight, McGregor has stayed away from the company for nearly 2 years. In the meantime, he has been a part of many controversies. Recently, an Irish woman came out with assault allegations against him. Hence, the TUF announcement was seen as a positive development.
However, the recent controversy regarding the fighter selection once again puts the spotlight on Conor McGregor. But Conor is not keeping quiet on the matter. After the reports came out, Conor denied all the claims and revealed that he had no knowledge of the selected fighters.
In a deleted social media post, Conor added, “@Actionman513 not true. I only know 1 guy on this show and he put himself forward for it. And he is now, after today, set to fight the No. 1 seed! I didn’t ask nor request nothing! And I certainly didn’t have people removed. I’m just tryna get back in the mix myself so f*ck off.” (h/t via MMA Junkie)
When the UFC finally announces the lineups for the show officially, fans will get a better sense of the validity of the report. Fans are also interested in knowing when Conor will fight Michael Chandler as well. Dana White told the reporters that UFC is yet to figure out the details of it. But the announcement depends on Conor’s USADA timeline. He is yet to enroll himself in the testing pool.