Dana White recently announced that the newest season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter' will feature two larger-than-life personalities. Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor headline the newest season as the coaches for their respective teams. The two will subsequently meet in the octagon for a massive fight after the season concludes in Conor McGregor's long-awaited return following an injury.
McGregor previously hosted Season 22 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter' against counterpart and UFC legend Urijah Faber. While the two coaches were set to fight after the show, McGregor was busy with a title fight and had to scrap his fight with Faber. Faber didn't come away empty-handed, however, as his team got the victory over Team McGregor in the final standings. The playful nature between the two trash-talkers made for some of the most hilarious content ever seen on the UFC's reality show. Ahead of TUF: Team Chandler vs. Team McGregor, let's take a look at Conor McGregor's five best moments on the show, ranked.
5. The Watermelon Toss
Each season, the two MMA fighters face off in a Coach's Challenge where they compete for cash to be split among their team. In this challenge, Urijah Faber and Conor McGregor were asked to drop watermelons from a helicopter onto a target in the desert. The banter between them was hilarious as Faber managed to secure the win and get the cash for his team. In true McGregor fashion, the Irishman was disappointed in his loss as he missed out on the money, but gave props to Faber one of the few times during the season.
4. McGregor mocks Faber's chin
Conor McGregor is without a doubt the best trash-talker we've ever seen outside of the octagon. He's quick with his quips and very clever when trash-talking his opponents, almost always resulting in a viral soundbite. This moment at the beginning of the show was a perfect example of McGregor's ability to playfully banter with Faber. In a sport where “chins” get brought up routinely, McGregor took a jab at Faber's chin for other reasons.
3. Conor and Urijah's Hallway Exchanges
Before each fight between contestants, the two teams would wait in the hallway or green room before entering the small TUF arena. These moments produced some of the best exchanges between McGregor and Faber as the two were forced to awkwardly wait for the producers' cue before walking into the arena. McGregor hilariously mocked Faber's face, while Faber continued to answer with jabs of his own on McGregor's fashion sense.
2. The Face-off with Jose Aldo
This was probably the most intense point of the entire season. Conor McGregor came into the semi-final fights to see his upcoming opponent Jose Aldo sitting on Team Faber's side. McGregor would forgo his fight with Faber as he was slated to unify the Featherweight belt against No. 1 pound-for-pound Jose Aldo. Having ripped his pants celebrating a team win, McGregor stood toe-to-toe with Aldo in the octagon as the two faced off in an intense showdown. This would, of course, go on to be the biggest fight in the UFC's history and cement Conor McGregor's legacy as the biggest star MMA has ever seen, thus propelling the sport to what it is today.
1. Exposing the beef between Urijah Faber and TJ Dillashaw
McGregor's biggest moment of the season was when he exposed the beef between Faber and Dillashaw in front of all the fighters on the show and millions watching at home. Urijah Faber recruited TJ Dillashaw out of high school as a wrestler and took him under his wing with MMA training at his gym Team Alpha Male. After bringing in striking coach Duane Ludwig, Dillashaw took a liking to the coach and found chemistry with him.
Dillashaw went on to win the UFC belt with Ludwig as his main coach. Ludwig then went on to open his own gym apart from Team Alpha Male, in which Dillashaw severed ties with teammates and switched gyms. Faber felt very hurt by the switch and brought tensions to the team as a whole. McGregor decided to air out the dirty laundry on live television and ensued an almost-brawl between him, Faber, TJ Dillashaw, and Team Alpha Male's Cody Garbrandt. While Faber and McGregor have buried the hatchet, the bad blood still sits with TJ Dillashaw as McGregor painted him as a villain, something that still follows the fighter today.
‘The Ultimate Fighter Season 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler‘ will premier on May 30, 2023 and will air weekly on ESPN and ESPN+
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