Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) was supposed to be a landmark television event, powered by the return of the biggest star not only in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but perhaps all of mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
Unfortunately for UFC and its broadcast partner ESPN, scoring former two-division champion Conor McGregor as head coach for the combat sports reality show failed to move the needle, finishing No. 11 on cable for its premiere episode.
Is fellow coach Michael Chandler to blame?
“I could see them skipping Chandler,” former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo told The Schmo (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “I could see Conor just saying, ‘Hey, I’m gonna want this guy.’ Chandler’s entertaining, but he’s not a big name. There’s no UFC belt around him. He’s not a legend in the UFC. He’s an entertainer of the UFC, but he hasn’t got there yet.”
When promotion president Dana White first announced the return of TUF, it was believed McGregor and Chandler would fight at the conclusion of Season 31, at or around August 2023. Then the delays started piling up and McGregor showed little urgency in getting back into the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool.
Perhaps McGregor, like Cejudo, doesn’t see Chandler as a viable threat.
“I feel like Chandler, if he had the right tactics, he could potentially beat anybody in the world because he has power and he has wrestling,” Cejudo continued. “But I don’t think he’s really kind of put those two things together that’s really helped him to become a little more well-rounded in the tactical sense.”
The longer UFC waits, the harder it will be to “reel these guys in.”
Juno You Saw This Coming
TUF was getting old 12 years ago. No one they put on there is going to save it.
Imagine the ratings if Nate headlined and the Skrap Pack were the opposing coaches on this season…
Nate would have been a great pick as coach and then face McGregor again
Chandler is owed one
That’s what I’m talking about, people can talk shit on Nate all they’d like, but a tuf season with him as head coach, the Skrap Pack as his team’s coaches, and the buzz that would generate for a trilogy PPV would be much bigger than this latest thing.
Chandler is just good respectful American and doesnt tell any jokes, for public eye its kinda boring, but his fights are fireworks
The first season of TUF I ever watched was the season with Nate on it. I immediately fell in love with the kid back then. Remember when he almost fought Karo??
He said something like “Im not letting you put your hands on me… I know how you Judo guys are”
I became a diehard MMA fan during that season.
They will prob wait for Nate to come back and give mcgregor that fight
Nobody gives a fuck about TUF…but everyone wants to see McGregor fight Chandler…TUF was dead 10 years ago
“Do you know who I am, bro…?”
“If he comes over here again hes gettin popped… How bout dat? How bout dat?”
you judo guys always trying to lock up on me…or Im gunna pop him how do you like that ?/ I thought Nate handled it well
im still a fan of the show Free fights and i like the seeing them train …But it has gone downhill But ive never missed a show
Henry is just saying what we’ve been saying here all along.
McGregor can’t fight anymore, he’s too far gone.
Now they’re blaming Chandler for not moving the needle.
Making him the fall guy.
Conor will prob clean his act up when he’s 38-39 and attempt a legit dedicated comeback and he will just be too old
Is this what passes for MMA journalism? Henry Cejudo speculating to “The Schmo”? That’s it?
This
Headline makes it seem like a reputable reporter or BLAF himself is saying Chandler will be skipped over.
Also how is number 11 in the ratings bad? I don’t get it.