Earlier this year, the long-awaited return of mixed martial arts’ biggest star was announced.
Conor McGregor, a former simultaneous featherweight and lightweight UFC champion, hasn’t competed since suffering a broken leg in his 2021 trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier.
After surgery and a lengthy road to recovery, the promotion announced that McGregor would be sharing the Octagon with Michael Chandler later this year. Before the pair throw down themselves, however, they first did battle as opposing coaches on this year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter.
With filming having taken place in March, the first episode of TUF 31 is set to air later this month on May 30.
But while anticipation for the reality show is growing following the release of a trailer and footage of a physical confrontation between the two coaches, McGregor has revealed that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with one aspect of the series.
McGregor: ‘I Would Have Liked More Time’
During a recent interview with renowned combat sports reporter Ariel Helwani for Matchroom Boxing, McGregor reflected on his second experience as a TUF coach ahead of the premiere next week.
The Irishman commented on the short nature of filming, which took place across a four-week period. McGregor admitted that he wasn’t pleased with that element and would have liked more time to interact with his team.
“We’ll see how it went. The fights went good. The lads are great fighters, great competitors. There’s some great bouts on the season. And I done my best,” McGregor said. “It was actually a short one, one of the shortest. Yeah, I wasn’t happy on that because we were only there a couple of days, we picked the teams, and then we’re forced to — we didn’t really have any chance to (provide) input. So I would’ve liked a bit more of that. But overall, it was a great experience.”
Nevertheless, McGregor appeared confident that the show will provide entertainment for fans. He’s also previously spoken about it being beneficial for his preparation as he gears up for his return to fighting action.
While no date has been set for McGregor vs. Chandler yet, latest reports indicate that the Dublin native is slated to be back in the USADA testing pool soon, perhaps opening the door to a year-end showdown.
The official trailer for The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs Team Chandler is here
Premieres May 30 | 10p ET | Exclusively on ESPN
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- Read Also: Michael Bisping Explains Why Conor McGregor Is ‘Winning The Mind Games’ Against Michael Chandler, Proposes Potential Date For The Fight
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