According to Dana White, UFC star Conor McGregor accepted to coach “The Ultimate Fighter 31” under one condition.
UFC president White said the Irish superstar wanted two of his fighters on the show, who are believed to be unbeaten prospect Lee Hammond, and “TUF 27” winner Brad Katona – both who train with McGregor at SBG Ireland in Dublin. The additions of those fighters meant others had their spots overtaken.
Although McGregor denied making such demands, White confirmed what the likes of manager Danny Rubenstein and UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns were upset about.
“Conor McGregor was going to coach this season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, but I’m bringing two guys that I want to make it right onto the show,'” White said on The Pat McAfee show. “Then, of course, the f*cking media (says), ‘Oh, that’s not fair, and what happened to those guys?’ Shut the f*ck up. We’ll take care of the guys that aren’t on it, and this is what Conor wants, we’ll give it to him.”
One of those fighters was Loik Radzhabov, who wound up getting a short-notice call-up to face Esteban Ribovics this past Saturday at UFC 285 – a fight he won by split decision. White went on to justify meeting McGregor’s demands, complimenting him as a business partner.
“He’s a great partner,” White said. “Conor is a great partner to work with. Conor and I have never had a problem. You think about this kid went from nobody knew who he was to one of the biggest superstars in all of sports. You’ve never really seen any real public blowouts with me and him. A lot of times when you get to that level of fame and money, it f*cks everything up. That’s never happened with me and Conor, we’ve always been solid.”
McGregor is coaching “TUF 31,” which features men’s bantamweights and lightweights, opposite side Michael Chandler. The pair will throw down after the taping of the show.
