Conor McGregor's fighter Aaron McKenzie was beaten up and taken to hospital by Austin Hubbard as the Irishman's awful start to The Ultimate Fighter continued.
Team McGregor have yet to put a single win on the board, with McKenzie's win arguably the most brutal of their three defeats despite the fight going the distance. The American ground specialist put up a solid fight on the feet and was doing well in the opening round before Hubbard found his distance and almost stopped the fight with ground-and-pound.
McKenzie survived into the second round, a slight victory for McGregor who's previous two fighters were knocked out in the opening stanza. But it only got worse from there as his own ground game went against him when the bout was brought down, and he was given serious cuts around his eye and cheek.
McKenzie was carted off in an ambulance, although his coach insisted that his performance had been impressive at times. "He's another tough cat ol' Aaron," McGregor said. "He's got good torque on his body and he was letting some big shots go, landing some big shots and taking some shots. Good fight that was, I have to say. If he had got a bit more time it would have been a lot different.
Rival coach Michael Chandler described his fighter, one of the season's veterans, as having put on a perfect performance, telling cameras: "Austin went out there and put on an absolute clinic, picking him up and putting him down. Controlling him, breaking his will, it was an awesome performance. This competition is going to start heating up but it's going to be a lot of fun.
UFC president Dana White added: "Austin capitalised on the damage that he did in round one and just dominated the second round. Aaron once again tried to take the fight to the ground but Austin was the one who got him down, got in a great position and just started raining elbows."
Hubbard was delighted with his victory, while an emotional McKenzie was taken away in an ambulance from the UFC's Las Vegas Apex facility. It's the third consecutive loss for McGregor's team of prospects, with fans fearing on social media that the Irishman may never win a bout this season.
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"The work's not finished," Hubbard said. "I came here to win the show so two more fights and I need two more victories before I'm fully happy. I'm going to win The Ultimate Fighter because of my will, I'm determined to win this thing, it's been one hell of a year this last year, to say the least, and from the bottom of my heart I know this is my comeback story right here."
In an emotional post-fight speech, McKenzie added: "Things didn't go my way tonight because he fought better and tonight he was the better fighter. At the end of the day it's still a fight and I went in and I fought my heart out. I went in and I fought as hard as I possibly could tonight, I gave it my all tonight and I have no regrets about that.
"I just want everybody back home to know that I love you guys, I miss you guys, I appreciate everything you've ever done for me, I know that this is going to be okay because you guys love me, you've had my back from day one and I really appreciate that and I love you guys with all of my heart."
