UFC star Conor McGregor is coaching against his SBG teammate Brad Katona in season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.
McGregor, 34, opted to coach the prospects after winning the coin toss against Michael Chandler on the first episode of the reality TV show, which aired on Tuesday evening. The decision means McGregor is coaching against Katona, a bantamweight veteran who trains out of the same gym as the former two-weight world champion.
Katona, 31, first visited the SBG HQ in Dublin in 2016 and opted to make the gym his permanent home shortly after. The Canadian is no stranger to The Ultimate Fighter as he won the featherweight bracket on season 27 in 2018, tapping out the likes of Kyler Philips and Bryce Mitchell before winning the season finale against Jay Cucciniello.
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'Superman' was cut by the UFC after consecutive losses to Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure but he earned himself a spot on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter after capturing the bantamweight title for Middle East promotion Brave CF. Katona was seemingly unfazed about not being on McGregor's team as his goal to win the competition for the second time remains the same regardless.
"I'm Conor's teammate, I train at his gym in Ireland," Katona said during the inaugural episode of season 31. "My teammates may wonder where my allegiance lies, in all honesty, my allegiance lies with Brad Katona. I'm a gangster, it doesn't matter what team I'm on because I'm going to bring it."
Chandler kept it professional when discussing the potential conflict of interest between him and Katona, stating: "Yeah, he is from SBG. Trains with Conor and those guys. Maybe he wants to be with those guys, but this is just how those things work out. They know they are getting 100 per cent effort out of me and my coaching staff, so we are going to win this thing."
McGregor's team suffered defeat in the inaugural episode of season 31 as lightweight Nate Jennerman was knocked out in the first exchange of his fight against Roosevelt Roberts. Jennerman was stunned by a big right hand just three seconds into the fight and Roberts wasted no time in seeking the finish, dropping Jennerman and finishing the fight moments later with some follow-up hammer-fists. In the next episode, McGregor's bantamweight Trevor Wells will face Team Chandler's Timur Valiev.
